The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in Nashik has started the process of widening and concretizing the Bhiwandi-Nashik stretch of the Mumbai-Agra national highway, which will cost Rs 5,000 crore. The project will cut the travel time between Mumbai and Nashik in half, from 3.5 to 2 hours.
The Bhiwandi bypass is connected to this 97-kilometer road. B S Salunke, the project’s director, estimated that the project would take two and a half years to complete. In this regard, work on a DPR is underway, which will be submitted to NHAI headquarters in the near future. Following that, he said, the project’s work will begin.
The Union transport minister announced the strengthening of the Mumbai-Nashik highway during his visit to Nashik last year. The 97-kilometer road between Gonde in Nashik and Vadpe (Bhiwandi) in Thane district will be converted into six lanes — three on each side — under the new plan. Currently, each side of the road has two lanes, and the entire stretch will be concreted to avoid issues such as potholes during the monsoon season. The NHAI has already begun the process of acquiring the necessary land for the highway’s widening.