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Coming Soon! Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway To Get 16 Wayside Hubs With Fuel Stations To Elevate Safety And Comfort

These wayside hubs will include a car park, bus park, and truck park, as well as small car repair bays along the Samruddhi Expressway.

by Nikitha Sebastian
Coming Soon! Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway To Get 16 Wayside Hubs With Fuel Stations To Elevate Safety And Comfort

Samruddhi Expressway, also called Hindu Hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg is an essential transportation network from the financial capital, Mumbai, to Nagpur, the second capital of the state of Maharashtra. Of this, 625 km of the expressway is presently in use. However, the absence of essential facilities has been a great concern along the stretch of the highway. MSRDC has proposed 16 wayside hubs along the Samruddhi expressway to tackle this problem.

Samruddhi Expressway Wayside Hubs

Samruddhi Expressway wayside hubs
Image Courtesy: @airnewsalerts/X (Formerly, Twitter)

Currently, drivers do not have enough opportunities to take some breaks to refuel or to find a food place, convenience store, or restroom in convenient proximity, which enhances the probability of highway hypnosis, a state that implies progressive fatigue due to long monotonous road travel and consequently accidents.

To counter these problems, MSRDC is on the right track, as they have proposed 16 wayside hubs along the expressway. These are parking areas, fuel depots, eateries, toilets, first aid facilities, and others that are intended to enhance the comfort and security of the expressway. One of these facilities is planned to be launched in the next six months.

Also Read: Mumbai-Pune Expressway’s Missing Link To Feature Asia’s Widest Tunnel; Will Cut Travel Distance By 6 KM

Initial Plans Of MSRDC

Initially, MSRDC had planned to construct four facilities each in both Aurangabad and Nashik districts. However, there were some setbacks attributed to technical issues in the execution of the project. The plan was subsequently modified to cover 16 zones, of which eight are forward and eight reverse. These hubs will therefore include a car park, bus park, and truck park, as well as small car repair bays.

The design has been changed to provide limited areas of the land for each hub. While earlier a hub would require between 10 and 12 hectares of land, the new type will only take about four hectares of land. From this size, three hectares will be dedicated to car parking space, and one hectare will cater for other facilities.

In addition to the wayside hubs, MSRDC will develop fuel stations at specific intervals along the identified route. They have assigned 24 locations for fuel stations that will be integrated into the hubs. Additionally, they will open eight standalone fuel outlets at key points on the expressway. The corporation floated tenders for the hubs at the end of this month.

Also Read: Mumbai: Pedestrian Bridge To Connect Western Expressway To Akurli Station On Metro 7 For Easier & Safer Commute

After bidding has been completed, the various private companies will be expected to develop the hubs within three months. These companies will also have the right to manage the hubs for the next 60 years. At first, facilities that are less permanent, like portable cabins, may be put in place to offer some services as construction of permanent structures goes on.

Cover Image Courtesy: @airnewsalerts/X (Formerly, Twitter)

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First Published: September 10, 2024 11:38 AM