Maharashtra's New 374-km Expressway to Slash Travel Time by 17 Hours

In a post on X, the Chief Minister said: "Heartfelt gratitude to Hon'ble PM Narendra Modi Ji and the Union Cabinet for approving the 374-km Nashik-Solapur-Akkalkot six-lane Greenfield Corridor (Rs 19,142 crore). A major boost to fast, safe connectivity under the #PMGatishakti National Master Plan."

Earlier in the day, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the construction of the 374-km-long six-lane access-controlled greenfield Nashik-Solapur-Akkalkot highway in Maharashtra. The project will be implemented on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis at a total capital cost of Rs 19,142 crore.

According to an official release, the corridor will connect key cities including Nashik, Ahilyanagar and Solapur, and is aimed at accelerating integrated transport infrastructure development in line with the PM Gati Shakti framework.

The greenfield route between Nashik and Akkalkot will be linked to the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway near the Vadhvan Bandar interchange, the Agra-Mumbai Corridor at National Highway-60 (Adegaon) in Nashik, and the Samruddhi Expressway at Pangri near Nashik. The corridor is expected to provide a direct connectivity link from the west coast to the east coast.

The government release said work on a four-lane route from Chennai to Hasapur (Maharashtra border), spanning about 700 km along the Chennai Port via Tiruvallur, Renigunta, Kadapa and Kurnool, is already under way. Once integrated with the proposed six-lane greenfield corridor, the project is expected to reduce travel distance by 201 km and travel time by around 17 hours.

The Nashik-Akkalkot (via Solapur) corridor will also enhance logistics efficiency for goods movement to and from key National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC) nodes at Kopparthi and Orvakallu. The Nashik-Talegaon Dighe section is expected to play a crucial role in the development of the proposed Pune-Nashik Expressway.

The project will form part of a new expressway network being developed by the NICDC in coordination with the Maharashtra government. Designed as an access-controlled corridor with closed tolling facilities, it will allow an average operating speed of 60 kmph and a design speed of up to 100 kmph.

Officials said the corridor would reduce overall travel time by nearly 45 per cent - from about 31 hours to around 17 hours - while ensuring safer, faster and uninterrupted movement for passenger and freight traffic.

The project is expected to generate around 251.06 lakh man-days of direct employment and 313.83 lakh man-days of indirect employment. Additional job opportunities are also likely to be created due to increased economic activity along the corridor, the release added.

The corridor is expected to significantly benefit the districts of Nashik, Ahilyanagar, Dharashiv and Solapur by improving connectivity, logistics capacity and regional economic growth.

- IANS