Prime Minister Narendra Modi has officially inaugurated the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway, with Phase 1 (520km, Shirdi-Nagpur) now being open for use. The Prime Minister was felicitated and accompanied by the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Eknath Shinde; the Governor of Maharashtra, Bhagat Singh Koshyari; the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis; and the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari.

The Prime Minister tweeted: “We are committed to delivering on top quality infrastructure and the Mahamarg between Nagpur and Shirdi is an example of this effort. Inaugurated this modern road project and also drove on the Mahamarg. I am sure it will contribute to further economic progress of Maharashtra.”

also mentioned in our previous story, the remaining stretch of the expressway will be completed in the next six months. It is the second expressway in Maharashtra after the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and is officially called the Hindu Hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg. The 701km-long expressway is being built at a cost of about Rs 55,000 crore and is one of the country’s longest expressways. It passes through 10 districts of Maharashtra and prominent urban regions of Amravati, Aurangabad and Nashik.

The expressway will not only improve the connectivity of the adjoining 14 districts but also facilitate the development of about 24 districts of the state, including the regions of Vidarbha, Marathwada and North Maharashtra. In line with the overall goal of integrated planning and coordinated implementation of infrastructure connectivity projects under the PM Gati Shakti programme, the Samruddhi Mahamarg will connect with the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and tourist locations like Ajanta Ellora Caves, Shirdi, Verul and Lonar.

We at Autocar India were the first to drive on the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway, back in April. This is when we drove the 612hp, Mercedes-AMG E63 S and were accompanied by the then Minister for Urban Development and Public Works and current Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Eknath Shinde, who drove the Mercedes-Benz EQC. We were also joined by the Mumbai-based supercar club Throttle 97 with cars like Nissan GTR, Ferrari 458 Pista, Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG, Jaguar F-Type, Audi R8 and Lamborghini Urus.

Watch our first drive on the new expressway here and our drive with Throttle 97 here.