A road trip from Nagpur to Goa could soon become much shorter, thanks to Maharashtra’s ambitious Shaktipeeth Expressway. The proposed 856-km corridor is moving closer to reality, with land acquisition for its first phase now underway. Scroll on to know more about this.
Shaktipeeth Expressway To Connect 13 Maharashtra Districts
According to Travel And Tour World, once completed, the six-lane, access-controlled Shaktipeeth Expressway is expected to cut the road journey between Nagpur and Goa from around 18-21 hours to nearly eight hours, making it a major boost for tourism and connectivity across Maharashtra.
The Shaktipeeth Expressway is planned to stretch from Digraj in Wardha district to Banda in Sindhudurg, close to the Maharashtra-Goa border. The route will pass through 13 districts, around 40 talukas and 409 villages, connecting parts of Vidarbha, Marathwada and western Maharashtra with the Konkan region.
The districts on the proposed route include Wardha, Yavatmal, Hingoli, Nanded, Parbhani, Beed, Latur, Dharashiv, Solapur, Sangli, Satara, Kolhapur and Sindhudurg.
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Nagpur To Goa In Around 8 Hours?
This could be one of the biggest changes for travellers. A road journey between Nagpur and Goa can currently take anywhere between 18 and 21 hours, depending on the route and traffic. The new expressway is expected to bring this down to around eight hours once the wider road network is connected. For travellers, that could mean quicker road trips to Goa, while also making it easier to explore destinations within Maharashtra along the way.
It is worth noting that the expressway isn’t just about getting from one city to another faster. The route has been planned to improve access to several important pilgrimage and tourism destinations across Maharashtra.
Travellers could benefit from easier connectivity to places such as Mahur, Aundha Nagnath, Parli Vaijnath, Tuljapur and Kolhapur.
With shorter travel times, the corridor could also encourage more multi-destination road trips and pilgrimage tours, while giving local hotels, restaurants and other tourism businesses a potential boost.
Land Acquisition Is Now Underway
Before construction can fully take off, a major amount of groundwork still needs to be completed. Land acquisition is currently underway across the proposed route, covering 409 villages.
Around ₹20,787 crore has been provisioned for land acquisition, while the overall project has been associated with an investment of more than ₹1 lakh crore. Once the required land is secured and compensation-related processes are completed, the project can move further towards construction.
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If the project progresses as planned, Maharashtra could soon have a new road corridor connecting its pilgrimage centres, agricultural regions, industrial hubs and tourism destinations.
Cover Image Courtesy: Pexels (representative image)
FAQs
What is the Maharashtra Shaktipeeth Expressway?
The Maharashtra Shaktipeeth Expressway is a proposed 856-km, six-lane, access-controlled expressway designed to improve east-west connectivity across Maharashtra.
Where will the Shaktipeeth Expressway start and end?
The expressway is proposed to run from Digraj in Wardha district to Banda in Sindhudurg, near the Maharashtra-Goa border.
Which tourist and pilgrimage destinations will benefit from the project?
The expressway will improve access to several religious and tourist destinations, including Mahur, Aundha Nagnath, Parli Vaijnath, Tuljapur and Kolhapur.