Mumbai, June 2 (Reporter) The final 76-kilometre segment of the ambitious Mumbai-Nagpur Super Communication Expressway, known as the 'Samruddhi Mahamarg', will be inaugurated on June 5 by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, a senior Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) official said on Monday. This last stretch, connecting Igatpuri in Nashik to Amane in Thane, completes the 701-kilometre high-speed corridor, which will be open to traffic the same day, officials said. According to MSRDC Managing Director Anil Gaikwad, all construction on the final segment has been completed. Built at a cost of Rs 1,182 crore, this section was jointly funded by the MSRDC and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). It features three major interchanges—at Igatpuri, Kutghar in Shahapur, and Amane in Thane—as well as India’s longest road tunnel, a 7.8-kilometre passage through the Kasara Ghat. The new link offers a significant improvement over the old Mumbai-Nashik route, reducing the elevation motorists must climb from 450 metres to just 160 metres and cutting travel time between Igatpuri and Amane from 90 minutes to 40 minutes. With this final portion operational, the entire Expressway will be fully functional, slashing the Mumbai-Nagpur journey from 16 hours to just eight. The Rs 55,000-crore project is engineered for speeds up to 150 kmph and includes 33 major bridges, 274 minor bridges, 65 flyovers, and six tunnels. The Expressway, officially named the Hindu Hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg, was a flagship vision of Chief Minister Fadnavis. Despite initial opposition from farmers over land acquisition, the project gained momentum and was completed in phases: the Nagpur-Shirdi section was opened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December 2022, the Shirdi-Bharvir stretch by then Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in May 2023, and the Bharvir-Igatpuri segment by MSRDC Minister Dada Bhuse in March 2024. Traversing 10 districts and 390 villages, the Expressway is poised to transform connectivity, stimulate trade, and accelerate economic growth across Maharashtra...////...