Team-BHP - Samruddhi Mahamarg: 701 km super expressway will connect Nagpur to Mumbai

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Originally Posted by kiran_aithal (Post 5456093)

However, we will miss the smooth Chitradurga - Belagavi- Karnataka/Maharastra border highway.

Well, that is true. However, instead of that, one will drive on the Chitradurga-Hospet-Bijapur highway, and that is equally smooth and nice, if not even better. I love driving on that highway, and Chitradura-Bijapur can be much faster than Chitradura-Kolhapur. Therefore, we gain a lot for what we miss, if taken this road.

I am excited by the inauguration of the Samruddhi Expressway and have been wanting to travel from Mumbai to Nagpur for a very long time. With this expressway my dream is finally coming true.

Slight confusion though, regarding where exactly can I join the Shirdi end of the expressway as i plan to start from Mumbai via Ghoti.

Anyone who has done it from Mumbai, please share the Google Maps route and your experiences please.

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Originally Posted by Shubhendra (Post 5456152)

No diversions, barricades between Nagpur to Aurangabad. Did on first day and it was without traffic, cruise control set to 120 and Nagpur to Auranagabd was covered in dream time (can not mention speed on public forum) and that too on a Scorpio :)

Can you update on petrol pumps on the route and any eateries .

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Originally Posted by Shubhendra (Post 5456159)

I used same route on 11th December, going to Shirdi is not advisable. If you start early (5 AM types), you shall reach Aurangabad Samruddhi start point in 3.5 to 4 hrs (it took us 3.2 hrs at 3AM) and you can have early lunch in Nagpur

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Originally Posted by antz.bin (Post 5456010)

My friend who stays near Sinnar tells me that they have actually opened up the expressway till Sinnar.

If you checked the Droneman video I posted, there are non-existent sections immediately after the Shirdi interchange. His drone captures are from November.

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Originally Posted by JoshMachine (Post 5456381)

Pune to Bhopal

Betul-Bhopal is still work in progressand I believe you have to go through Nagpur to get to Betul NH as well, so you can forget justifying it for time. Nasik-Indore-Bhopal would be the fastest.

Think of it as a good joyride in your A4 for the winter holidays :D

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Originally Posted by rakesh_r (Post 5455995)

Journalism has gone to the dogs for sure, apologies if i have hurt any of the journalist bhpians out here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62roimtAbr4

Why do these news agencies (ABP Majha) spread so much negativity? It seems a Swift and Merc met with an accident. You don't adhere to the speed limits or rules, you are bound to meet with an accident, as simple as that.

Had a similar issue where a editor of TOI posts a news item of the vande bharat express being rolled out for multiple routes and uses a image of a train engine which had damages during its trial run. We love to sell our country short and only highlight negatives and not enjoy some positivity at times.

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Originally Posted by narayans80 (Post 5456530)

Nasik-Indore-Bhopal would be the fastest

Thanks :thumbs up. If I choose this route, then I think I may not be even required to go upto Nashik. I can take a detour right from Sinnar itself possibly.
So the overall route could be Pune > Sinnar > Malegaon > Dhule > Indore /Bhopal.

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Think of it as a good joyride in your A4 for the winter holidays

Absolutely :), that's the intention!
Have done multiple Pune - Bhopal trips in the Vento earlier, so hoping this one with the A4 should be better.

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Originally Posted by Shubhendra (Post 5456159)

Would you then recommend hopping off at Aurangabad and then onwards to Mumbai?

Two comments :
1) When the government declares a highway Open, it should be Open without any exceptions.Just when will our country learn this? Whatever stretch is earmarked for inauguration ahould be 100% complete. It is our bad habit of tolerating anything less.
2) Regarding the reported accident, well, media loves bad news more than good and it is obviously divided along political lines.

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Originally Posted by JoshMachine (Post 5456381)

I am to travel from Pune to Bhopal in next couple of weeks.

Just to extrapolate the route you have taken- have a query: will it be advisable to use Pune > Aurangabad > Bhopal OR use Pune > Shirdi > Bhopal instead?

I am regular to Pune-Bhopal route and have traveled somewhere via Bhopal in November.
Currently, there is no better route than Pune-> Nashik -> Dhule -> Indore -> Bhopal. If you start early in the morning, you will be able to beat Chakan traffic and if driven consistently should take ~ 13 hrs to reach Bhopal. Even many Pune-Indore/Bhopal buses have opted for this route because of bad roads on routes mentioned by you.

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Originally Posted by wanderlustindia (Post 5456589)

Would you then recommend hopping off at Aurangabad and then onwards to Mumbai?

No, why not reach until the end of the highway (Shirdi), then go to Mumbai. Aurangabad - Pune is pain during normal hours, just too much traffic and jams. You should be able to avoid it and go via Nashik.

Happy to see the road infrastructure is planned to be safer and faster. Eagerly awaiting for someone in my workplace to get married in Nagpur so that I can take my car on a road trip through this expressway.

Though it's designed safely for both humans, cars and animals and with a lot of thought for safe animal passage, we have couple of wildlife causalities already as per this article: A Langur and a Blackbuck was found dead on the expressway. Some valid points made that engineers and planners should pull in wildlife and ecological experts while planning. Sure that the engineers & planners would have consulted, but more focus and money on this is welcome.

The entire stretch is made of concrete except at bridges, what would be the spate of tires driving 4-5 hours at 120kmph. Bitumen roads are known to generate lesser friction, more grip, absorption of spillage etc.

And once frequented by trucks, it will be a pain to repair the damaged concrete roads.

So I completed the journey from Nagpur to Navi Mumbai in a total of 11 hours that included an hour of break time (after getting off the expressway).

The Expressway is almost complete, there are couple of small diversions along the way. The entire stretch is concrete and one can see grainy patches in many places. No amenities open just yet, I reckon it’ll be a couple of months before one can stop properly enroute. There were a few strays, dogs, monkeys and humans along the way, thankfully no cattle (I saw a few on Purvanchal expressway recently)!

If I’m brutally honest, the road surface isn’t anything to write home about! All the hullabaloo about the surface rivalling the autobahns is just plain and simple political speak! Two of the best stretches of tarmac that I’ve ridden/driven in the last 3-4 years, one in the North (Lucknow-Basti highway) and in the South (Nippani to Belagavi) are far superior than the surface on the Samruddhi Mahamarg.

We’re getting ever so closer to match the quality of roads globally but I’m afraid we are not there just yet. It’ll be a while before we get there. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great road to drive with pleasant scenery all along! The road surface, though, is a different matter altogether!

P.S: Just chanced upon this article - https://www.freepressjournal.in/amp/...or-next6months

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Originally Posted by Shubhendra (Post 5456805)

Thank you, Shubhendra. I got off at the end as suggested and took an interior road via Sinnar-Igatpuri and further on towards Navi Mumbai.