[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Travelled to and fro the Samruddhi EW in the last few days, on the Sinnar - Nagpur stretch.

Forgot to add a point.

We came across a LOT of road kill on both lanes. While we didn't encounter any live animals as in this incident, the amount of road kill, in varying degrees of when it had happened, indicates it happens very regularly.

[Trojan]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Forgot to add a point.

We came across a LOT of road kill on both lanes.

Yes, dogs are the biggest issue, Langurs follow a close second. Any road kill is followed by more dogs and the odd Jackal venturing too.
The main issue though is post clean-up, which is not happening.

Part of a mandatory maintenance activity should be removal of animal carcasses immediately post a mishap. Delays and failure to do so, become contributors towards the next accident.

The spots for these accidents are around the same vicinity, and once scavengers associate these as regular feeding grounds, you will always find them in the vicinity and be the cause for the next one.

[tp_dominator]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Forgot to add a point.

We came across a LOT of road kill on both lanes. While we didn't encounter any live animals as in this incident, the amount of road kill, in varying degrees of when it had happened, indicates it happens very regularly.

Not just road kill, these days you can find tyre treads of the trucks too lying on the highway. I had an unfortunate incident when I was travelling on the 9th Nov in my new Seltos towards Nagpur. It was about 8 pm and I always drive in the middle lane, but at that time I was overtaking from the overtaking lane with cruise set at 119km/hr. Suddenly, I see the huge tyre tread lying right in my path and since I was overtaking with the car on the left, couldn't avoid it and ran over it. Stopped later to check the damage but nothing was visible. A few days later at my home, I noticed something missing and the lip bumper (or air curtain) was damaged and missing almost 1/4th portion on the co-driver's side. No other damage, took it to Kia and the part was priced at just Rs. 373 with it being available in a Tier 3 town. I thanked my stars that nothing untoward happened.

Same thing happened while I was returning to Pune on the 17th Nov, this time in my XUV700. This time I was on the middle lane at about 7.30 pm and noticed the tyre tread late. Ran over it and inspected the car next day morning. Thankfully no damage to the XUV. I have now decided, its better to cover Samruddhi during daylight, at night time, animals, trucks, tyre treads, sudden closure of lanes with minimal markings etc. pose a serious safety hazard.

[Mgdoodler]

Hello,

As part of my drive to Kolkata, first part on Samruddhi Mahamarg completed today.

Entry via Bharvir. The first two rest stops from Mumbai are operational. The next one is after Dusarbid exit approx 10 km. 300 km from Bharvir entry. Was carrying food and water so dint explore the limited food options.

The roads are good. Trucks atleast during the day stick to the left and middle lane. It was later in the day after 4:30 pm that I encountered trucks in the fast/ overtake lane.

It took me 11 hrs from Mumbai western suburbs to Nagpur. Morning due to the weather there was fog and low visibility up to Shahpur. Also encountered some rain in the afternoon. Evening again visibility started reducing after 4:30 pm. Overall a good drive.

Speed limit is 120 and with clear good road visibility it's not a strain. My Altroz was a pleasure to drive..

Hope it helps
Mgdoodler

[anjan_c2007]

Important post by a friend in a WhatsApp group today:-

Please note : just now my friends son in law and daughter came from Nasik through samruddhi. As they told there was huge group of monkeys crossing road and they have seen two different incidents wherein two monkeys crashed and vehicles damaged.

In the discussion a meaningful reply by another friend:-

Yes, I have had the similar experience. A colleague of mine was stranded about 2 hrs from Aurangabad. Very often the monkeys come during evening time.

There are places where the fencing is not properly done, so we have also come across dogs. Mostly morning or afternoon driving is clear.

Hence, those travelling on the expressway may observe due caution.

[anjan_c2007]

The Samruddhi EWay now one year old has seen 73 major mishaps, with 142 people losing their lives according to PWD Minister Mr Dada Bhuse, who was replying to legislators in the state assembly, upper house yesterday. Some 66 lakh vehicles have used this E way till now according to him. He also said that a major number of accidents were due to fatigue in view of the low number of stopping areas. This is an admission by the state government.

He further stated that 16 station points with petrol pumps, restaurants, hotels and toilets will come up in the next four months. Also admitting that many wild animals have died on the Eway, he stated the government will construct more wild animal passes to overcome this issue.



But these statements of plans coming from the government are expected to spillover the designated timelines. Let us only hope they take up the matters with all seriousness.

[07CR]

Hi all. I plan to travel to Shegaon this Friday in my new Seltos FL GT Line DCT. I would be travelling from Pune-Manchar-Sinnar Samruddhi interchange-Samruddhi Mehkar Interchange- Shegaon. I believe return trip (Sunday) will also be on the same route.

In this jouryney travel through Samruddhi would be roughly around 283 Kms from Sinnar Toll plaza till Mehkar Toll plaza.

I had following queries-

1) I had read that there are very few restaurants or places where one can stop on the E Way. Has this improved? If not, any notable mentions where I can stop on my route between Sinnar toll and Mehkar toll?

2) Have read about multiple tyre burst incidents. I believe most of these would be due to sheer ignorance towards the tyre health by the travellers. However, any recommendation as to how much distance one can cover in one go, so that the tyres don't heat up and cause any untoward incident? My cars odo stands at 1000 Kms, so the tyres should be in great condition and have filled up nitrogen as per manufacturer recommendation.

3) Do share any other point you might have apart from this.

Thanks!

[abhi7992]

Originally Posted by 07CR

Hi all. I plan to travel to Shegaon this Friday in my new Seltos FL GT Line DCT. I would be travelling from Pune-Manchar-Sinnar Samruddhi interchange-Samruddhi Mehkar Interchange- Shegaon. I believe return trip (Sunday) will also be on the same route.

In this jouryney travel through Samruddhi would be roughly around 283 Kms from Sinnar Toll plaza till Mehkar Toll plaza.

I had following queries-

1) I had read that there are very few restaurants or places where one can stop on the E Way. Has this improved? If not, any notable mentions where I can stop on my route between Sinnar toll and Mehkar toll?

2) Have read about multiple tyre burst incidents. I believe most of these would be due to sheer ignorance towards the tyre health by the travellers. However, any recommendation as to how much distance one can cover in one go, so that the tyres don't heat up and cause any untoward incident? My cars odo stands at 1000 Kms, so the tyres should be in great condition and have filled up nitrogen as per manufacturer recommendation.

3) Do share any other point you might have apart from this.

Thanks!

1) There are no restaurants along the expressway and you would mostly find locals selling some snacks at the petrol pumps. You can exit the expressway at Shirdi and have some food at Swastik Hotel which is right near the interchange so won't be a long detour.

2) Don't see any issues here since the car is brand new. On my last trip in August did the Bharvir Khurd-Nagpur stretch with a couple of stops and did not face any issues with tyre heating.

3) Try to take breaks every couple of hours as there have been multiple accidents due to highway hypnosis. Do ensure that you are conversing with other people in the car or listening to some music if you are alone as the road can get monotonous.

[07CR]

Any idea about the toll rates between sinnar toll exchange and mehkar toll plaza?

[07CR]

Completed 283 KM stretch from Sinnar toll exchange to Mehkar toll exchange. While the road is indeed great compared to all other roads in Maharashtra, there are a few expansion joints near Shirdi which need to be carefully taken. Lack of restaurants on this highway frequented by many vehicles is a bummer!

Return journey was from Mehkar toll exchange to Shirdi toll exchange. Overall I was happy with the road, only unhappy with lack of relative greenary around. I believe they are taking steps to counter this.

[anjan_c2007]

An update here on the Samruddhi Mahamarg civil work progress, connecting it to Mumbai. The highway construction work beyond Shirdi is moving full steam. The next 25 km stretch from Bharvir to Igatpuri is slated to be completed by 15th February 2024. Thereafter, the highway is expected to be completed till Amne in Bhiwandi Tehsil, Thane district, by July 2024.

Till Bharvir the total completed length is about 600 kms. The balance 101 kms is quite challenging for road construction as the terrain topography is quite undulating and hilly according to a Maharashtra State Road Development Construction official. The cumulative tunnel length is 14 kms in the last 101 kms, remaining stretch. There are 40 viaducts with a cumulative length of 14 kms.

[anjan_c2007]

Yet another bus-truck collision on the highway in Amravati dist (Mah) that occurred yesterday at 5.00 am, (24.01.24) killing two passengers and the cleaner (total 3). It so happened that the Ahmednagar-Raipur bus was overspeeding, when it hit a truck's rear portion. The truck was ahead of this bus. The front facade of the bus was badly damaged, as is seen in the attached news clipping. The bus driver fled thr scene. Ironic that he was physically fit to escape despite the front portion crashing. The cleaner and the two killed passengers could have been most likely seated on the front cabin's left side that took the brunt of the impact.



The age old recipe is the same - a bus- low frontal visibility during darkness - reckless overspeeding without any concern for poor visibility ahead and for the precious lives of the bus' occupants - CRASH !

It was only providence that saved other precious lives of the bus passengers.

The news clipping reports that more than 1000 accidents have occurred on this 13 month old expressway and 368 lives have been lost. It also rightly reports that most accidents have occurred during the night or the wee hours and also due to the drivers dozing off.

[ruzbehxyz]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

The next 25 km stretch from Bharvir to Igatpuri is slated to be completed by 15th February 2024.

Yes. This 25 kms. segment of the expressway includes a mix of features such as a flyover, bridges, VOB (Vertical Shaft Brick), twin tunnels measuring 300 meters each, and an intersection with the old Mumbai Nashik Highway. This particular section is recognised as one of the most intricate parts of the expressway. Notably, the construction of the VOB presented challenges due to the continuous traffic flow on the six-lane road beneath the bridge.

The completion of the 25 kilometre stretch will mark the conclusion of the work in the Nashik district, leaving only the Thane district tasks to be addressed. The pending 76 kilometre stretch extending to Amane in Thane district is yet to be completed and is expected to be opened by July 2024.

[Darkcloud]

We travelled from Mumbai to Shridi on the weekend and noticed a few things-

-We did the Bharvir - Shirdi stretch at night and there were 3 tempos without their tail lamps on. Without any tail lights it is difficult to identify such vehicles in the dark. Nobody bothers to check such vehicles at the toll entry points. The people sitting there are glued to their phones.

-Many private cars were overspeeding well over the 120kmph speed limit and changing lanes without warning while trying to overtake other vehicles.

-Occupants of one car casually threw out multiple fruit peels and paper bags from the window on either side while cruising in the mode lane.

It's sad to see such irresponsible driving. These people may be fewer in number but they put at risk the lives of the majority who ride safely on the expressway.

[anjan_c2007]

An encouraging report just out says that wild animals are increasingly using the lifeline overpasses to cross over on the super expressway.

The Times of India report states that the latest camera trap survey by Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun has shown encouraging results. As per the agreement signed between WII and the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) the monitoring team deployed 64 camera traps across overpasses and underpasses in the wildlife focus areas (WFAs) of Samruddhi expressway. Last month, several wildlife species, including ungulates, small mammals and carnivores were found using the overhead crossing, avoiding the high-speed highway. Many animal species were observed on camera traps installed by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) using such means for navigating, which included herds of nilgai, chinkara and wild boars, the Indian hare, Indian crested porcupine, mongoose, gray langur and leopards.

If the wildlife uses its survival instincts so effectively, we can hope that road users will heave a sigh of relief. It will also go a long way in aiding wildlife conservation.

The newslink :
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/.../107643982.cms