Gadkari Announces Mega Road Projects For Vidarbha

Nagpur: Union minister for road transport and highways, Nitin Gadkari, on Saturday announced that road, highway and urban mobility projects worth Rs1.5 lakh crore will be taken up across Maharashtra in 2026. The projects would be mainly concentrated around Pune, Nagpur and key intercity corridors.Gadkari made the announcements while speaking to the media outside the Vidhan Bhavan in Nagpur after interacting with students of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA). He announced a series of major road projects for Nagpur and Vidarbha, including 9km Nagpur-Katol section with Katol and Jamb bypasses, and a six-lane Nagpur-Bhandara highway to be developed at a cost of Rs2,000 crore.Several four-laning projects across northern Maharashtra and Marathwada have also been approved. Linking Vidarbha with western and central Maharashtra, the Centre has cleared the Pune-Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar new express highway with an estimated investment of Rs16,318 crore, for which an MoU has already been signed. It will significantly reduce travel time from Pune to Nagpur. Phase I of the project, covering the Pune–Ahmednagar–Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar stretch, will be taken up at a cost of Rs2,000 crore and will include flyovers and allied infrastructure.A separate alignment is planned from Shikarpur, outside Ahilyanagar, through Beed connecting to Sambhajinagar greenfield highway. Toll-related decisions for this section are pending, while land shifting and allied processes are expected to be completed in the next two to three years. "Once completed, travel time between Pune and Sambhajinagar is expected to reduce to around two hours, while Sambhajinagar-Nagpur will take about 2.5 hours, bringing Pune-Nagpur travel time down to 6 hours," the minister said.In the Pune metropolitan region, multiple large-scale elevated corridors have been cleared. The Talegaon-Chakan-Shikarpur corridor will see a three-level structure comprising an elevated section. The project envisages a multi-tier structure on a single pillar, with a ground-level road, two flyovers above it, and a Metro line at the top wherever planned, at an estimated cost of Rs4,207 crore. The Nagpur MP said, "Bhoomipooja (ground breaking ceremony) is expected immediately after the elections, with tenders almost ready."A three-level elevated corridor from Hadapsar to Yewat has received cabinet approval at a cost of Rs5,262 crore. Land acquisition has begun and the DPR is under preparation, with work likely to commence post-elections. "Development works at Kalamboli worth ₹770 crore have also been assigned, taking the total value of projects allotted to MSIDC to around ₹27,000 crore, he added.Projects awarded to NHAI include the Nashik Phata–Khed corridor, to be executed in two phases at a combined cost of Rs7,800 crore, with 93% land acquisition already completed. Phase I from Nashik Phata to Alandi Phata will cost ₹4,403 crore, while the Alandi Phata–Khed section is pegged at Rs3,398 crore. A flyover from Old Pune Naka to Satara Chowk has also been announced, contributing to what Gadkari said is an overall investment of nearly Rs50,000 crore for Pune alone.Other key announcements include a western bypass Pune-Satara road, notorious for accidents, with a new DPR worth Rs7,000 crore under preparation, and the Pune–Khambatki tunnel, which is nearing completion. In addition, 25 standalone projects worth Rs15,000 crore and annual plan projects worth Rs60,000 crore have been approved, with approval for another Rs20,000 crore in the pipeline.Gadkari also revealed plans for a parallel Mumbai–Pune Expressway and a greenfield JNPT-Shivare junction link as part of the Pune-Bengaluru highway, aimed at reducing Mumbai-Pune travel time to two hours and enabling Mumbai-Bengaluru travel in about 5.5 hours worth Rs15,000 crore.