Mumbai-Nagpur highway opening pushed to 2024

The Maharashtra government's flagship project, the Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg connecting Mumbai to Nagpur, which was originally scheduled to open early next month, is facing delays due to a 1-kilometer bottleneck near Mumbai, pushing the deadline for the 701-kilometer project’s completion to early next year.

"Several factories and warehouses need to be demolished along this 1-kilometer stretch, which will serve as the endpoint of the Samruddhi Mahamarg. This is necessary to finish the last 4.5 kilometers of the road, of which 3.5 kilometers are already complete, linking the village of Amane to the Shangrila Resort on the old Mumbai-Nashik Highway," sources in MSRDC stated. 

The Maharashtra government had initially expected the 76-kilometer stretch, critical for opening the Nagpur-Mumbai Motorway, to be finished by the first week of August. This would have enabled the highway to open in September, but the delay has now shifted the timeline.