Samruddhi Mahamarg in a BMW 320d: Drive experience & 8 observations

Had to go from Bangalore to Aurangabad, but took a deviation via Nagpur for the sole purpose of driving on the new expressway.

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:

1. The road is fast, but one must follow all precautions and safety. It is critical to make sure your tyres are in the right condition, of the right speed rating, and properly inflated.
2. Although it is best to start with full fuel, there are fuel stations along the way, so it is not a big deal. However, exiting the highway and breaking the driving rhythm for fuel would still be annoying.
3. For the above reason, best to do this drive non-stop without any fueling on the way or any other stops. One can cover this distance in a ridiculously quick time and the driving rhythm is something you can never experience on any other road in India. Best to enjoy that!
4. The road is as good as any I have seen in the western world! The exit signs, the exits roads and interchanges, the lane markings, everything is absolutely state of the art as good as the best in the world!
5. The road surface itself is not that great. Being a cement road, and that too not necessarily very well finished at some sections, it does feel a bit bumpy and noisy. The first 50km or so from Nagpur are quite rough. My ride reminded me of a bumpy aircraft ride during turbulence.
6. Thankfully, there was no traffic. I passed around one vehicle approximately every km or so. Thankfully, the slow trucks were sticking to the slow lane (leftmost lane) and passing them while driving on the middle lane was a breeze.
7. I had heard a lot about animals on this road and was extremely watchful for animals. Luckily for me, I did not face any problems at all. I did see a couple of dogs and a couple of monkeys here and there, but that is nothing worrisome or unique to this road. In fact, there are many more dogs in the Bangalore-Hyderabad road, and I know of many accidents that happened there due to dog hits. The same is the case with the Bangalore-Chennai road, where not just the dogs but even cows pose a much more serious threat. In comparison, I did not think Samruddhi Mahamarg is any worse at all.
8. Although everything is nice, such a long, straight drive without traffic can be a bit boring and even can cause what is known as "Highway hypnosis", and it can be dangerous. I made sure I listened to my favourite music at a relatively louder level than my usual preference just to make sure I do not get zoned out. In the end, I enjoyed both the music and the drive.

I am sure to go back there soon and do more drives in that part of the country now!

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