Can a highway serve as a runway for airplanes during emergencies?
In short: The Mumbai–Nagpur Expressway is more than a road; it is a 701-km digital and utility corridor. Designed to slash travel times between Maharashtra's capitals from 16 hours to just eight, this massive greenfield project doubles as a potential emergency runway for aircraft.
Known officially as the Samruddhi Mahamarg, this 701-km access-controlled expressway connects Mumbai in the Marathwada region to Nagpur in the Vidarbha region. It is the longest expressway in Maharashtra and the second in the state, following the Mumbai–Pune Expressway. Beyond simple transit, the route is engineered to function as an airplane runway to facilitate rapid incident response during natural disasters, emergencies, or war-like situations. The route features a single-layer concrete paver across its 15-metre wide slabs. It also includes a 7.78 km tunnel located in Igatpuri.
The project, conceptualized in 2015 by former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, is being executed by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) under an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) model. It is one of India's largest greenfield road projects, with a total cost of approximately ₹55,000 crore, which is equivalent to about US$6.6 billion in 2026. The infrastructure is highly complex, involving 65 flyovers, 24 interchanges, 6 tunnels, and over 700 underpasses for vehicles and pedestrians. The construction is divided into 16 distinct packages awarded to 13 different contractors. To manage the project, the government established a special purpose vehicle known as Nagpur Mumbai Super Communication Expressway Limited.
To drive regional development, the MSRDC is acting as a New Town Development Authority to create 19 new townships, known as Krushi Samruddhi Nagar, at strategic intersections 30 to 40 km apart. These towns aim to support the local population—roughly 36% of the state—by providing healthcare, education, and industrial land-banks. Additionally, the corridor is designed to be a 'digital-ready' utility hub, carrying optical fiber, natural gas pipelines, and electricity grids to support industrial townships. Wayside amenities like food plazas and electric vehicle charging stations will be available every 40 to 50 km. Furthermore, the project incorporates solar plants to generate 250MW of energy.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Mumbai–Nagpur Expressway
- Also: Wikidata — Mumbai–Nagpur Expressway · CC0
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