Will take legal action, lodge FIR against those using Samruddhi Expressway: MSRDC

MSRDC officials said they will also file FIRs against motorists who are accessing the expressway without the requisite authorisation. “Nobody is allowed to travel on the expressway before it is inaugurated as it is risky to do so. We have started to take stricter measures. We have now put up barricades, sought patrolling on the stretch and kept the interchanges shut. If we see anyone unauthorised traveling on the stretch, then we can take legal action against them and will even start filing criminal cases…,” said a senior MSRDC official.

The Samruddhi Expressway, which will cover the 701-km distance between Mumbai and Nagpur, is touted to be the fastest expressway of the country. The MSRDC is executing the construction work of the expressway at an estimated cost of Rs 55,000 crore.

Phase 1 of the project, a 201-km stretch between Nagpur and Shelu Bazar in Washim, was set to be thrown open for the public on May 2 this year. However, a wildlife overpass, located 15 km from Nagpur, developed cracks and was damaged. An official involved with the project said, “Work on the collapsed arch — which had caused the delay in opening up of the first phase – is likely to be completed by June end, after which phase 1 of the project, the stretch between Nagpur and Shelu Bazar, can be thrown open for the public.”