[AkshatR]

Originally Posted by rakesh_r

Any idea as to which Interchange we need to use to visit the Lonar crater?

you should use the mehkar exit. I believe thats the closest.

[rakesh_r]

Originally Posted by AkshatR

you should use the mehkar exit. I believe thats the closest.

Thanks, yes I did use the Mehkar IC to go to Lonar.

[Piyush_DT]

A very unfortunate accident occured at Samruddhi expressway leaving 2 dead and 2 in critical condition. This is first major accident on the expressway occured around 01:45 AM.

The accident occured after driver tried to avoid an animal. The speed of the car was around 100-120 kmph.


I have seen that area around the expressway has been cordoned off for most of the part as mitigation measure but I think it is not enough.

[GeeTee TSI]

Very intrigued about the prospect of driving along this beautiful surface.

Something which concerns me from others' accounts is boredom, especially as someone who sticks to prescribed limits (120 doesn't seem very exciting from dashcam footages). Any specific tips on managing this state of monotony, hitherto unknown in India?

I suppose the general terrain is barren/sparse or do we have endearing scenery besides the immaculate surface

The absence of any sort of shade/waiting area in the event of a breakdown (tyres or worse, engine) makes me wonder, how long could one wait under the sun waiting for RSA (which would take hours)? Does NHAI have an emergency vehicle which can reach sooner?

Are the frequency of toll booths similar to what we usually experience (say every 50 kms)?

That said, I would also love a multi axle Volvo ride along this stretch, snoozing away to glory!

[bj96]

Originally Posted by Piyush_DT

A very unfortunate accident occured...

Aum shanti. Prayers for the departed!.

The newspaper report talks about deceased were "thrown out" of the car. Most probably because of not wearing seat belt when seating at the rear? This pattern is repeated often times in highway accidents and still we don't learn .

-BJ

[SlowRider]

Originally Posted by mygodbole

Even at speeds of 120kmph and above, low beam is more than adequate. I drove in July from Nagpur to Pune on low beam. The low beam, when correctly positioned, is more than enough to light up the road ahead.

High beam, to my knowledge and experience, is needed only on undulating terrain, going uphill or downhill. That too only to 'see', not to blind oncoming drivers. Just view, once you have 'seen', focus on the road.

I disagree. As speeds increase, our eyes need to scan further ahead to give us enough time to avoid a pothole/person/animal. I regularly drive at 80km/h in low beam and it's not bad. But at higher speeds, it is my experience that the obstacles that I need to see are often beyond the cut-off of my low beam and are not illuminated until it's too late.

I am not advocating for full-time high beams on highways, but merely making the point that the faster you go, at some point, high beams become a necessity.

[sumalkar]

Originally Posted by GeeTee TSI

Are the frequency of toll booths similar to what we usually experience (say every 50 kms)?

Toll booths are only at entry and exit. So you can travel for almost 500 km without toll booths, if it's Shirdi to Nagpur or other way round.

It's almost a straight road, one can cruise at 100+ speed for the entire stretch.

[ruzbehxyz]

Read full story here: https://www.nagpurtoday.in/msrdc-to-...shaps/12281101

[Turbohead]

Originally Posted by ruzbehxyz

Attachment 2397150

Read full story here: https://www.nagpurtoday.in/msrdc-to-...shaps/12281101

So is there a real problem with the highway design or are people dozing off/ driving beyond their capacity?

Sincerely wish that these type of highways turn out to be safe than the other ones.

[ruzbehxyz]

1) Take plenty of water and some food with you before travelling.
2) Do not travel at high speed, preferably within a hundred.
3) Before travelling, first of all check the tyres of your car, if possible, fill the tyres with nitrogen air.
4) Before starting the journey, check the petrol and all types of oil in the vehicle properly.
5) Even if the car is equipped with cruise control, your focus should be on the road ahead.
6) Samruddhi Mahamarg has not been completed yet, so we have to keep all kinds of amenities. Petrol pump is 200 kms on this Expressway. There is no shop at present.
7) Drive according to the condition of the tyres of your own vehicles and drive at that speed otherwise the tyres may burst and cause an accident due to the cement road.
8 Stop the car for 20 minutes preferably every two or three hours so that the tyre and engine temperature can cool down a bit.
Your car tyres are not suitable for cement roads. So these tyres burst immediately if the speed is high. So even if it is the Expressway, don't increase the speed too much. Maximum 120 km/hr.
Life is precious.

Source: https://www.nagpurtoday.in/dos-and-d...ibextid=S66gvF

[vharihar]

Originally Posted by SlowRider

I disagree. As speeds increase, our eyes need to scan further ahead to give us enough time to avoid a pothole/person/animal. I regularly drive at 80km/h in low beam and it's not bad. But at higher speeds, it is my experience that the obstacles that I need to see are often beyond the cut-off of my low beam and are not illuminated until it's too late.

I am not advocating for full-time high beams on highways, but merely making the point that the faster you go, at some point, high beams become a necessity.

Absolutely inverted logic. If at low beam you can't see far enough to feel safe at your speed, then you need to REDUCE your speed! You should NOT permit yourself higher speeds by turning on high beam.

The only time high beam is acceptable is in fog, etc conditions that bring in poor visibility due to actions beyond your control. Needless to say, here too you should reduce your speed. And turn on high beam so that your visibility is improved and you are also visible to others coming towards you from the front.

[narayans80]

Took the Samuruddhi Mahamarg from Wardha to Shirdi as part of the drive from Warangal to Shirdi on 26th. I was following this project for the last 3 years. So when the inauguration happened on 11th December. I was quick to re-route

We entered the Wardha interchange approximately 15:45 hrs and were at our hotel in Shirdi at 20:15 hrs. That is about 475 km in 4:30 hours. Speeds maintained were 116 kph till Aurangabad and 112 from Aurangabad to Shirdi.

There was a toilet block immediately after crossing the toll booth. Not sure if this is the way other interchanges are.

There were 6 petrol bunks in the section. 3 HPCL, 2 IOC and 1 BPCL. We stopped at the BPCL which had shoddily maintained restrooms. There were more people who stopped for loo breaks than fuel.

The IOC prior to this had coffee-tea stalls (per my missus).

The last HPCL between Verul and Lasur interchange seems to have CCD. Could not confirm.

There are 2 diversions. First is between Shelu Bazar and Washim, could not note exact distance of origin point. This is quite long, about 10-15 km. Second is between 7th km and 5th km from Shirdi interchange. You can still maintain 100 kph on the diversion due to lack of traffic. There are 2 warning speed breakers 1 km and 0.5 km ahead. There are 2 boards 1 km and 0.5 km ahead of the speed breakers for the impending diversion.

Even though the speed limit is 120, there were just 2 or 3 vehicles during the entire journey that overtook me. Most vehicles were driven below 120.

Trucks were not a concerns. Cars switching lane without indicators were.

Dogs and monkeys were the ones that were freely roaming around. I avoided a pair of dogs with room to spare. Around the time, there were a group of monkeys crossing the road on my rear view mirror.

Lot of vehicles are stopping on the shoulder. I kept to the middle lane, specifically to avoid surprises from such. Thankfully no one was suicidal enough to take pictures from across lanes.

No misaligned bridge bumps here. Except 1-2 that were felt, rest are smoothened out.

The tunnel section between Jalna and Aurangabad is short. Blink and you'll miss it. Don't have Katraj in mind.

The longest distance between exits is the one leading to Jalna (86 km). There were one IOC and one BPCL in this stretch.

Lots been said about vehicle fitness in this thread. I personally feel, it is the human body that is not used to constant high speed driving at a stretch. Even for someone who is used to driving long haul drives, I was pretty exhausted when I parked at Shirdi. It must be said, I also had to negotiate Pandharkawda-Hinganghat the same day.

The highway connecting from SMM to Shirdi is in awful shape, basically national horror. The return lane is in much better shape.

Except for the above said stretch, this practically makes Bangalore-Solapur-Aurangabad-SMM-Shirdi a dream drive. We did Shirdi-Hospet in 12 hours, which included a 20 km detour to BPCL COCO at Waluj-breakfast-lunch and further 4 hours to NICE entry.

It may not make sense for Hyderabad-Shirdi through the entire stretch. Although if anyone wants to take the extended joyride. You can do it in 11.5 hours from Medchal. Anywhere north of Adilabad, its a no brainer.

This being a East-West running expressway. Have sunglasses handy.

Looking forward to another drive in summer

[sumalkar]

Originally Posted by vharihar

The only time high beam is acceptable is in fog, etc conditions that bring in poor visibility due to actions beyond your control. Needless to say, here too you should reduce your speed. And turn on high beam so that your visibility is improved and you are also visible to others coming towards you from the front.

High beam in fog?? Even turning on [regular] low beam lights in fog is risky.

[vivek95]

As others have pointed out, these kind of continuous straight highways/expressways tend to induce "highway hypnosis" and subsequently sleeping behind the wheels. The only simple way to beat this and avoid accidents is pulling over at the restaurants/toll plazas and take a short nap of 10-15 mins. You are then good to go next 2 hours easily after that. I am very popular in my circle for taking multiple short naps while I am on long highway trips . Little burning sensation in my eyes and I immediately stop for a quick nap. I am not sure if Samruddhi Mahamarg yet has any wayside amenities, may be I should exit at interchanges, take nap on service roads and then resume journey.

I sincerely hope, in the wake of these recent accidents on SMM expressway, authorities don't bring down the speed limit from 120 to 100, please !

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by vivek95

I am not sure if Samruddhi Mahamarg yet has any wayside amenities, may be I should exit at interchanges, take nap on service roads and then resume journey.

You can exit at the petrol bunks, these are independent of actual exits. This is the best case stopover for now. Eateries and other stops I found alongside were 10-15 km off the expressway. Not worth the detour IMO.