The original route was meant to pass through cities such as Surat, Nashik, Ahmednagar, Solapur, Kalaburagi, Kurnool, Kadapa and Tirupati, linking Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana and Tamil Nadu.
The government has decided to shorten the planned six-lane Chennai–Surat National Highway under the Bharatmala Pariyojana. The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has now changed the route, and the highway will run from Chennai to Nashik, instead of going all the way to Surat. Officials said the change was made because of serious problems in buying land between Surat and Nashik. There were also long delays in getting environmental approvals for that stretch.
Earlier, the expressway was planned to be 1,271 km long, connecting Surat to Chennai, with an estimated cost of about Rs. 50,000 crore. Under the new plan, the road will be around 900 km long, as it will end at Nashik.
The original route was meant to pass through cities such as Surat, Nashik, Ahmednagar, Solapur, Kalaburagi, Kurnool, Kadapa and Tirupati, linking Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana and Tamil Nadu. Under the revised plan, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) will build a new greenfield expressway from Bharvir Khurd on the Samruddhi Expressway to Tawa village on NH-48 (Mumbai–Ahmedabad Highway). This new road is expected to do almost the same job that the earlier Surat–Nashik stretch of the Chennai–Surat Expressway was meant to do.
Earlier, the project was split into two parts: 513 km from Surat to Solapur and 707 km from Solapur to Chennai. Even though the route has now been shortened, officials say the main aim of the expressway has not changed.
The road will still be a six-lane, access-controlled expressway, allowing vehicles to travel at speeds of up to 120 kmph. It is expected to greatly improve long-distance travel and connectivity between central and southern India.
