Widening Roadways is not the option for Prosperity! Part 2

It is clear from various issues considered that widening existing highways is not a suitable and practical option for the Samruddhi Mahamarg. In part 1 of this article series, we understood how this option is not viable as far as social and economic factors are concerned. In this part, we will understand the technical limitations of this option. MSRDC will have to consider several technical difficulties that it will face when widening the existing highway, which are presented in this section…

Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg is not just a roadway being built to cater to the current needs of the population. It is a state of the art expressway planned after considering projections for traffic and population for the next 20 years. In the beginning, three lanes will be constructed on a priority basis. MSRDC has made provision to increase the number of lanes on either side for future expansion. So in future, if lanes have to be increased, it will be possible without causing any disturbance to the traffic flow. To avoid face-to-face collision of vehicles coming in opposite directions, a 15 m wide central median will be built. Trees will be planted on the central median to maintain the ecological balance. The most important aspect is that the entire expressway will be 3 m taller than the surrounding land. This decision is taken to strengthen the construction and for the safety of the Samruddhi Mahamarg. At some places, this height can be 11 m as well. So, if the existing highway is widened then its entire paved surface will disappear in the 15 m wide central median itself. So the option of widening the existing highway is canceled and it is proposed to construct an entirely new highway which is a viable choice in all aspects.

A special route has been reserved for telephone lines, gas and oil pipelines, and optic fibre cable lines. 7 m wide service roads will be constructed along the new expressway at 20 – 25 strategic locations, which will make traveling easy for people from surrounding villages. These service roads will be connected through underpasses of 7 m (width) x 3 m (height). It is definitely not possible to get such large quantity of land around the existing highway.

The primary need of the driver is to be able to see the road at least 365 m ahead clearly if the driving speed is 150 km per hour (272 feet per second). MSRDC has designed the expressway accordingly after considering this technical aspect. Considering the turns on the existing highway, it will not be possible to maintain 365 m visibility of the road ahead. This option will not be technically and economically feasible and it will not be possible to achieve the purpose of driving at a high speed of 150 km per hour. Around 30% changes in the design will have to be made if widening the existing highway is undertaken, which will be practically unviable in all aspects.

MSRDC has to construct a road considering a width of 15 m circumference if the driver has to drive smoothly at a speed of 150 km per hour without losing control even if the direction has to be changed by a minimum of 1 m.

Several other technical aspects will be discussed in the third part of this article series. In this manner, it will be emphasised that it is not practically possible to widen the existing highway for the MSM project.