To Accelerate Completion of Mumbai-Nashik National Highway : Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar

Mumbai : Due to the ongoing large-scale construction work on the Mumbai-Nashik National Highway, including concreting, bridges, and service roads, traffic congestion has been causing inconvenience to commuters. To resolve this issue, comprehensive traffic management measures must be implemented. Officials from the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), Public Works Department (PWD), and National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) should work in coordination to complete the work on a war footing, directed Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar during a meeting held today at the Mantralaya. He also instructed that if contractors fail to expedite the work, they should be blacklisted and the work should be reassigned to capable contractors.

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar reviewed the progress of the Mumbai-Nashik National Highway project at the meeting held at the Mantralaya. Present at the meeting were Public Works Minister Ravindra Chavan, MLAs Dilip Bankar and Rais Shaikh, Chief Secretary Nitin Kareer, Additional Chief Secretary of PWD Manisha Mhaiskar, Principal Secretary of the Planning Department Saurabh Vijay, MSRDC Managing Director Anil Gaikwad, and Regional Officer of NHAI A. Srivastava. Public Works Minister (Public Enterprises) Dadaji Bhuse and MLA Devyani Pharande participated via video conferencing.

Highlighting the urgency of completing the Mumbai-Nashik highway upgrade, Ajit Pawar emphasized its importance for residents of Nashik district and North Maharashtra who frequently travel to Mumbai. He noted that the highway handles approximately 1,70,000 Passenger Car Units (PCUs) during peak hours, creating significant challenges during construction. Against this backdrop, he instructed the PWD to coordinate with MSRDC and provide necessary support to NHAI for expediting road construction activities.

Stressing the current favorable period for roadwork, Pawar said that monsoons hinder construction progress. He instructed MSRDC to repair potholes on the highway immediately and ensure that the work is of high quality. Additionally, he emphasized maintaining smooth traffic flow during concreting works and suggested ensuring the availability of adequate manpower (wardens) and barricades. Restrictions on heavy vehicles during specific hours and mapping of narrow areas were also part of the instructions provided during the meeting.

This directive underscores the state government’s commitment to expediting the completion of this vital highway project to ease commuter woes and enhance road infrastructure.