Samruddhi Mahamarg
Hindu Hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg
Also known as Nagpur–Mumbai Super Communication Expressway and Nagpur–Mumbai Expressway
701 km
Open
Maharashtra
Expressway
Route
Samruddhi Mahamarg runs 701 km from Nagpur, Maharashtra to Amane (near Bhiwandi, Thane district), Maharashtra.
Crosses Maharashtra.
Through Nagpur, Wardha, Karanja Lad, Jalna, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Shirdi, Igatpuri and Bhiwandi.
Why it matters
Nagpur and Mumbai sit at opposite ends of Maharashtra, and for decades the drive between them ate a whole day. The Samruddhi Mahamarg turns that into a single working day's drive, so oranges from Nagpur, cotton from Vidarbha and soyabean from Marathwada can reach Mumbai's port and mandis while still fresh. It is also the state's biggest bet on inland growth: dozens of new industrial townships and logistics parks are planned at its interchanges.
History
The Samruddhi Mahamarg is a brand-new expressway built across Maharashtra to connect Nagpur, in the state's east, with Mumbai on the coast. The idea was to give the inland districts of Vidarbha and Marathwada — which had felt left behind — a direct line to Mumbai's port and markets, which is why it was named Samruddhi, meaning prosperity. MSRDC began building it in 2019 on a completely new alignment, buying land from farmers with a mix of cash and land-pooling deals. It opened in stages: 520 km from Nagpur to Shirdi in December 2022, then on to Bharvir and Igatpuri, and finally the hardest stretch of all — the tunnels down the Kasara ghat to Amane near Bhiwandi — on 5 June 2025. It has cut the Nagpur–Mumbai road journey from roughly 16 hours to about 8, and its interchanges now serve Shirdi, the Lonar crater and a string of planned new towns along the route.
Good to know
- India's longest fully operational expressway at 701 km (as of 2026).
- Cuts the Nagpur–Mumbai drive from about 16 hours to about 8.
- Designed for speeds up to 150 km/h — among the fastest roads in India.
- Passes through 10 districts of Maharashtra, with interchanges serving Shirdi and the Lonar crater.
- Includes twin tunnels of about 7.8 km through the Kasara ghat near Igatpuri, among Maharashtra's longest road tunnels.
- Built by the state's own MSRDC rather than NHAI, at a cost of roughly ₹55,000 crore.
- The final 76 km from Igatpuri to Amane alone has five twin tunnels totalling about 11 km.
- It is designed to be widened from 6 lanes to 8 later on if traffic grows.
Timeline
- 2019Construction begins
- 2022First 520 km from Nagpur to Shirdi opens in December
- 2023Shirdi–Bharvir stretch opens, taking the open length to about 600 km
- 2024Route extended to Igatpuri
- 2025Final Igatpuri–Amane stretch opens on 5 June — all 701 km operational
Key junctions
- Nagpur (Shivmadka) — interchange number one — the eastern end, on the outskirts of Nagpur
- Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad) — the main gateway for Marathwada and the Ajanta–Ellora caves
- Shirdi — the busiest exit on the road — millions of pilgrims use it for the Sai Baba temple
- Igatpuri — where the expressway enters the ghat tunnels on the way down to the coast
- Amane (near Bhiwandi) — the western end, feeding traffic into the Mumbai metropolitan region
Engineering highlights
- Igatpuri (Kasara ghat) twin tunnel — about 7.8 km long and unusually wide — Maharashtra's longest road tunnel, it lets the expressway slip under the steep, accident-prone Kasara ghat instead of climbing it
- Tunnels on the Igatpuri–Amane stretch — five twin tunnels, roughly 11 km of tunnel in total, carry the road down the Western Ghats in the last 76 km
- Wildlife crossings — animal overpasses and underpasses designed with the Wildlife Institute of India, where the road passes the Katepurna, Karanja-Sohol and Tansa sanctuaries
On the road
End to end is about 8 hours of driving, and most people break it at Shirdi or Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. The posted speed limit is 120 km/h for cars and it is enforced with cameras. Wayside food and fuel stops are still far apart on the middle stretches, so fill up before you leave a town. The road has had a bad run of crashes blamed on speeding, driver drowsiness and tyre bursts on hot afternoons — check your tyres before starting and take a break every couple of hours. Tolling is distance-based and paid by FASTag.
What’s coming next
- The expressway was designed so it can be widened from 6 lanes to 8 when traffic demands it.
More details
- Lanes
- 6 lanes, access-controlled (expandable to 8)
- Project cost
- About ₹55,000 crore