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BHPian Dr.AD recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
I had to go to Aurangabad for work last week. Normally, one would drive straight from Bangalore to Aurangabad, which is a very good and fast road now (all six-lane and four-lane highways throughout!). However, I made a plan that only a TeamBHPian with a "Live to Drive" attitude will understand. I decided to drive from Bangalore to Nagpur, and then from Nagpur to Aurangabad so that I get to drive on this Samruddhi Mahamarg!
This was a solo drive (since I was primarily driving to attend some work meetings). On the previous day, I did the long solo drive from Bangalore to Nagpur. It was exactly 1100 km from my home in Bangalore to my hotel in Nagpur. It was a nice and fun drive. However, I was eagerly waiting for the next day, when I would drive on the Samruddhi Mahamarg.
The next morning, I had a nice breakfast at my hotel, refuelled the car to make sure I do not need fuel soon, and then started this much-awaited drive at 9 am.
Refuelling at Nagpur before entering Samruddhi Mahamarg (on such long highway drives, my 320d was giving a range of about 1000 km, so this was not really a worry as such):
Once I entered the Samruddhi Mahamarg, the first 50 km or so the road surface was quite rough. The road noise was a bit annoying, but nevertheless, I did enjoy driving on such a beautifully designed road. Luckily, after about 50km or so from Nagpur, the road surface improved a lot (or maybe I just got used to it) and I absolutely enjoyed my drive on this beautiful road.
The speed limit of 120km/h was great to have, and at that speed, I was covering the distance in no time. The road is really very well built. I did not want to stop on the side of the road (which is not recommended anyways) to take pictures but managed a few shots from the phone attached to my windscreen. Here are some windscreen shots.
Beautiful road:
You have visibility of up to a mile (so to speak), and with nice smooth tarmac, and a speed limit of 120 km/h, progress is fast:
I continued enjoying this drive, although it quickly gets repetitive and might be a bit boring too:
Although stopping on the side of the road is not recommended, I found a significantly wide shoulder at one point, and could safely park the car away from the driving lanes for a quick photo. There was hardly any traffic, and I parked there barely for a minute for a couple of quick photos. But otherwise, I would not recommend stopping on this road at all as a safety measure, unless it is an emergency.
My car on the latest and the greatest road in India:
I thoroughly enjoyed the drive and reached Aurangabad from Nagpur in a time that would have been unthinkable just a year ago!
A short summary of my experience and observations:
I am sure to go back there soon and do more drives in that part of the country now!
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