Safe and accident-free travel is our motto
— By | Aug 24, 2015 12:18 am
Accident-free roads are a priority and the Maharashtra government will adopt safety and precautionary measures while constructing roads in order to ensure the same in the near future. State Public Works Minister Eknath Shinde spoke to Pandurang Mhaske on the future plans of his department. Shinde also shared details of the government’s ambitious plan to construct an 800-km-long expressway between Mumbai and Nagpur, reducing the travel time between the two cities to just 10 hours. This ‘Communication Super Expressway’ will connect Mumbai and Nagpur passing through Amravati, Aurangabad and Ghoti. The project, in partnership with the Centre, will cost around Rs 30,000 crore and is expected to be completed by September 2019. It will be constructed with the help of the Union government.
Q: As a minister of the Public Works Department (PWD), how will you ensure that commuters travel safely on roads?
A: Safety is our main aim. Safe and accident-free travel on highways is our motto and we are working towards it. Simultaneously, we are trying to cut down on the travel time on highways so that commuters can reach their destinations early and safely.
Q: What are the new plans for the safety of commuters? Recently, an accident took place on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway in which three people died unnecessarily. Would you assure commuters that they can travel safely?
A: Yes, of course. We have plans to make the Mumbai-Pune Expressway more safe. Last month, there was a series of landslides and three people died. We are with the family of the deceased. We immediately accepted our responsibility and announced financial aid for them. Apart from that, we also made the contractor give compensation to the family.
We have undertaken the repair work of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, which is set to become safer. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has planned to extend the Adoshi tunnel by 100 metres. Apart from that, the corporation has also planned to install censors at all the sensitive spots along the ghat section of the expressway.
The ghat had been checked by geological experts of ISOFER, a Swiss company. The experts of the company have already made a presentation to the department.
Q: How will the censors work and how will these help in avoiding accidents?
A: The installed censors will read the movement in the rocks and will relay the information to the authorities, which are monitoring the same through the internet. So the MSRDC and the IRB can initiate precautionary steps to avoid further landslides. The company and MSRDC can also alert motorists to avoid certain roads to avert further tragedy. As per the reports from the Swiss company, there will be high-tensile nets that will be put up at the spots where the rocks are more sensitive.
Q: What are any new projects to make traffic faster and safe?
A: There is a plan to construct a tunnel linking Thane with Borivali to shorten the travelling distance between the two towns. The tunnel would be constructed between Tikuniji Wadi and the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, reducing the travel time to just eight minutes (from the current half an hour). Thane and Borivali in north Mumbai are separated by a chain of hills, most of which are a part of the national park. A consultant has been appointed to carry out the project study.
Further, an elevated road has been planned along the Godhbunder road at a cost of Rs 518 crore.
Q: What is about the national highway projects? Are there any new projects in the pipeline?
A: We are going to construct a Nagpur-Mumbai communication highway, which is about 800 km long. This highway will follow the model of highways in Germany. It is the state’s largest infrastructure project. Union surface transport minister Nitin Gadkari assured the state government financial aid for the 800-km ‘communication super expressway’ linking Mumbai to Nagpur via the backward regions of Maharashtra.
I met Gadkari in New Delhi last week with senior MSRDC officials. In the meeting, the Centre had assured that they will share land acquisition costs.
The estimated cost of the project is Rs 30,000 crore. However, the actual cost will be arrived at after the detailed project report (DPR) is prepared. It has not been decided if toll will be charged or not, but it will depend on the financial model.
The ambitious project will be an ‘access controlled road’ like the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. The super expressway will run through Ghoti (near Nashik), Aurangabad and Amravati and connect Mumbai to the state’s second capital of Nagpur. The much-delayed infrastructure project will be undertaken in partnership with the Centre and will be executed by the MSRDC. An ambitious target of September 2019 has been set for its completion.
Q: What will be there on the two sides of the super expressway?
A: There will be IT parks, smart cities, educational institutions and recreational hubs wherever possible, and the expressway will bring down the travelling time between Mumbai and Nagpur to just 10 hours. The expressway will also be equipped with an optical fibre network (OFN), CCTVs and wi-fi. The expressway will pass through areas with a developmental backlog and touch cities in North Maharashtra, Marathwada and Vidarbha. The work will be undertaken in two phases, and in the first phase, land acquisition will be completed and four-laning will be done.
Q: The Ganapti festival is scheduled in next month, with the idols arriving on September 17. Many Mumbaikars visit their native place in Kokan during the festival. They have to take the Mumbai-Goa expressway, which is most dangerous. How will you assure the safety of these people?
A: We are planning to make arrangement for more state transport buses. Around 800 buses will be on the
road for the festival. The buses arranged for Kumbh Mela at Nashik will be back and will be sent to Konkan.
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