[truezealous]

Entry/Exit locations details of Samruddhi Mahamarg

[anjan_c2007]

We from the Cent Ind Vintage Automotive Association (CIVAA) went for a drive on our vintage cars today, during forenoon on this much talked about 8 lane super expressway. The entry point is through feeder highways starting from NH 44 followed by another feeder state highway stretching for about 18-20 kms distance in all from Nagpur city (zero milestone). The first two pictures are from our halt on NH 44.

The feeder highways have no proper signboards showing directions and distances to the entry point of the Samruddhi SE way and those new need to do their homework first, before reaching the entry point.

Once on the Samruddhi SE way, one just drives on and on. The expressway allows max speed of 120 kmph and there are intermittent signboards showing the max speed and the green rounded topped with white base replicas of the age old milestones, showing distances to the next interchange (village/town/city names). The overhead signboards showing distances to towns and cities ahead are aplenty.

We did steady speeds of upto 60-70 kmph (40-50 MPH on my car's speedo) and crossed two of the 19 interchanges during our drive. Traffic is very sparse and the new generation cars were zooming past on both directions. We also saw very few trucks but no buses moving during our drive. Perhaps if the road is opened up till Mumbai and the proposed interchanges for Aurangabad and Pune, maybe we will see more "tyre/wheel falls" (like the term footfalls we use for humans)

There is a troop of Grey langurs ( genus Semnopithecus) just near the first interchange (near Hingna village) that are bound to be killjoys for speeding cars. On the inaugural day, one was trampled and newspapers had featured the simian's corpse lying on the middle of the road. This needs to be taken care of else there are bound to be more simian casualties. They just joyfully dance on or off the road.

We found one brand new Bharat Petroleum fuel outlet towards the Mumbai - Nagpur part of the SE way just near the toll points. The BP outlet is just about a week old and not at all crowded. Hence, attendants are still well behaved. They were inquisitive about our old cars. One was asking whether the VW Beetle was an EV as it had no front grille. I had my fill of ten litres for fuel adequacy during our drive.

And a last word, for some who say this SE way is class above all and almost like or even better than the Autobahns. My answer is NO. Those who have driven on Autobahns will vouch that they are much more superbly built. I couldn't find anything different on this SE way that perches it above our other expressways and would never think of comparing it with the Autobahns.

Cars if driven here must be hassle free and one must have adequate snacks, food and drinking water to last through the to be covered distance. Any car breakdown would be a nightmare.

Some images to share :-





The above two images are from NH 44 to show our participating cars.

[iamahunter]

I noticed something on the Samruddhi highway today.

There was one sign board which displayed distance to Mumbai as 260 kms, and then the next one has 315 kms, Very Confusing!

I got on from Jalna and got off at Vaijapur, so these boards were between them.

Sadly, I could not take any pictures of the same.

That's kind-off nitpicking, however the highway is super smooth, there are no bumps or any uneven surfaces. Even the joins between the concrete patches and the tarmac road are seamless.

Hopefully it stays like this for years to come.

[vivek95]

Originally Posted by rakesh_r

Latest video on the Samruddhi highway:


Looks like the highway is complete, devoid of eateries.

Thanks for sharing that excellent video

Signboard at the beginning says "Mumbai - 770 kms" from Nagpur. Looks like the claimed 701 kms is actually only till Amane village, Kalyan where the Expressway ends at Mumbai. ( akin to Mumbai -- Pune Expressway which is 93 kms from Kalamboli McD to start of Pune bypass at Ravet)

My other guess is that , Shirdi--Mumbai part of the new Expressway is yet under construction and the conventional route from Shirdi to Mumbai via Sinnar--Ghoti is around 240-250 kms. So, 520 kms on Expressway till Shirdi and another 250 till Mumbai adds up to a total of 770 kms.

Am I missing anything here ??

By the way, I drove Mumbai -- Nasik -- Trimbakeshwar -- Nasik -- Mumbai yesterday, the road has been resurfaced at many places and is excellent. However, the initial part of NH3 till Padgha or so is being widened in the Mumbai metropolitan limits to 10/12 lanes and has rough surfaces and diversions and crazy traffic snarls. This update might help people planning Mumbai--Shirdi--Samruddhi Expressway--Nagpur drive. Best time to start is 3:30 - 4 a.m. My next drive would be to Nagpur, hopefully within 31st December.

[mygodbole]

I guess distance boards are likely to be in error, not very professional.

The drive is fun, gets me from Nagpur to xyz destination rapidly (better than previously tried roads) and there are no impediments/distractions (a.k.a. two-wheelers) on the e-way.

My recollections from the Mumbai-Pune e-way inform me that yes, vehicles need to be properly maintained.

All opinions welcomed about the 'nut behind the wheel' syndrome.

Having driven/ridden across many terrains and temperaments, my opinion is that this partially opened highway shall indeed be a gift to transporters (fuel savings, wear-tear) The ancillary needs shall be met eventually (eateries and puncture-repair).

Enjoy the drive, raise a query, not a complaint. The state machinery has the responsibility to respond (maybe silence?) but then it is also true that I am duty-bound to pay my income tax on time.

[sagarpadaki]

I believe the concrete surface will become more 'levelled' with the high spots getting eroded over time. But still the impact on the tyres will be pretty high compared to tar roads. I predict good number of tyre bursts due to under-inflated or bad condition tyres, especially in summer when temperature of the surface will exceed 50 degree Celsius.

[JoshMachine]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

But still the impact on the tyres will be pretty high compared to tar roads. I predict good number of tyre bursts due to under-inflated or bad condition tyres, especially in summer when temperature of the surface will exceed 50 degree Celsius.

Absolutely, a very important safety aspect to watch out for . Specially, the entire Vidarbha belt which is notorious for extreme and rapid high temperature build-up during summers.

As seen from the Mumbai - Pune (concrete) expressway and the old Mumbai - Pune (asphalt/tar) highway - when it comes to driving pleasure and general safety of the tyres, asphalt trumps any day!

Given that this Mahasamruddhi expressway doesn't yet have a fully-functional infra support ecosystem (emergency vehicle & tyre repair etc.) based on views of BHPians so far, the initial few weeks / months could potentially result in few mishaps lying unattended to.

[satish.gawai]

Well, this is a much-awaited and much-needed expressway. Someone like me who usually travels between Pune and Akola/Buldana has very little opportunity to use it.

The next highway should be between Pune and Aurangabad. The current one is overloaded and is dangerous at some turns.

I wish to get a chance to test drive Samruddhi. Any idea how/where can we connect it while traveling from Pune to Akola?

[rakesh_r]

Did our yearly sojourn to seek Sai baba’s blessings with our newly purchased Gurkha. Since the Samruddhi Mahamarg was starting from Shirdi, decided to take this opportunity to cover the stretch.
1- Excellent road conditions, seamless joints. The expressway is fully concrete, bridges are tarred.
2- Roads are well marked.
3- Most petrol pumps from Nagpur to Shirdi are operational (fuel availability). Most petrol pumps stock on wafers, snacks, and machine dispensed tea/coffee. We survived on Haldiram wafers and apple juice.
4- Absolutely no wayside amenities available. You can use the washrooms of the fuel stations, no questions asked.
5- Concrete surface is pretty rough, since the Gurkha comes with AT tyres, the ride was a bit noisy.
6- Saw Foxes, Langurs, Peacocks and stray dogs wandering all over the highway. One needs to be alert as i saw lot of carcasses (dogs).
7- The Nagpur entry point is all decked up with laser lights and flowers. One can visit the entry point at night to see the lightings and project presentations, with speakers blaring out songs praising the obvious.
8- Saw lot of tyre burst cases and accidents (a completely burnt duster, an Ecosport with a sheared roof as it ploughed through the barrier, a completely total led Accent with a missing front end, a truck minus its under carriage)

All in all, it’s a boon for people heading to the Vidarbh.

PS: Also visited Lonar crater for which we took the Mehkar interchange.

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by JoshMachine

Absolutely, a very important safety aspect to watch out for . Specially, the entire Vidarbha belt which is notorious for extreme and rapid high temperature build-up during summers.

For sure. It will be lucrative business if there are tyre shops along the highway or Puncher shops who deal with secondhand tyres. Commuters with blown tyre/ non functional spare would be happy to pay a few hundred or a thousand bucks on a second hand tyre to continue their journey on the expressway. I think such shops will definitely pop up, especailly to cater to trucks which are usually overloaded and are susceptible to blow a tyre or two due to the concrete surface and high surface temperatures during summer. The road will take a good toll on suspension and tyres .

[rakesh_r]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

The road will take a good toll on suspension and tyres .

Very true, 5+ hours of high speed driving (permitted 120kmph speed limit) on badly maintained tyres during Summer season is a recipe for disaster, considering how people neglect tyre maintenance.

[dust-n-bones]

Originally Posted by iamahunter

I noticed something on the Samruddhi highway today.

There was one sign board which displayed distance to Mumbai as 260 kms, and then the next one has 315 kms, Very Confusing!

I got on from Jalna and got off at Vaijapur, so these boards were between them.

Sadly, I could not take any pictures of the same.

That's kind-off nitpicking, however the highway is super smooth, there are no bumps or any uneven surfaces. Even the joins between the concrete patches and the tarmac road are seamless.

Hopefully it stays like this for years to come.

Another nit-pick.


The directions are all wrong.
This is the Nagpur on-ramp. I get it that the board is 'trying' to tell you that you are going to enter a roundabout. But there are 2 lanes going straight, there is no left or right turn to take here.

What the board at this point should say is, vehicles headed toward Mumbai should stay in left lane (straight arrow on top of left lane), and for Amravati and Hingna, stay in the right lane (straight arrow on right lane).

Further ahead, this is the actual on-ramp for Mumbai, from a dedicated third lane on the left.


Here again, the signboard should have pointed to the left most lane, for Mumbai ONLY, the center lane for Amravati (which is the next exit), and right lane for Hingus (exit furthest away). All arrows straight up, since there are no turns, only exits in this rounabout.

Both photos courtesy google streetview: https://www.google.com/maps/@21.0310...7i13312!8i6656

[ampere]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

I believe the concrete surface will become more 'levelled' with the high spots getting eroded over time. But still the impact on the tyres will be pretty high compared to tar roads. I predict good number of tyre bursts due to under-inflated or bad condition tyres, especially in summer when temperature of the surface will exceed 50 degree Celsius.

Originally Posted by JoshMachine

Absolutely, a very important safety aspect to watch out for . Specially, the entire Vidarbha belt which is notorious for extreme and rapid high temperature build-up during summers.

I agree. I wonder why not over the concrete; authorities add a layer of tar to make the drive smoother. I always worry about driving long distances on concrete roads.

[ac 427]

Stupid question alert!

Are bikes allowed on these roads?

[sumalkar]

Originally Posted by satish.gawai

I wish to get a chance to test drive Samruddhi. Any idea how/where can we connect it while traveling from Pune to Akola?

I am travelling to Pench from Pune on Friday [Dec 23rd] evening and intend to follow this route: Pune - Sangamner - Shirdi - Samruddhi highway. The same may be used for Akola as well. Other option is to connect via Aurangabad.