Panic ensued along the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Highway after over 50 vehicles were punctured passed over an iron board that had fallen on the road.
The incident occurred around 10 pm on December 29 between the Malegaon and Vanoja toll plaza in Washim district, impacting four-wheelers and cargo trucks. This resulted in a long traffic jam on the highway. Further, commuters were stranded on the highway overnight as no assistance arrived for a long time. It is being investigated if the board fell accidentally or was thrown intentionally.
This comes at a time the safety on the high-speed corridor is under question. In June, at least six people were killed and four injured in a collision between two cars on the Samruddhi Mahamarg near the Kadwanchi village on Samruddhi Highway in Jalna district.
The Samruddhi Mahamarg is a partially functional six-lane and 701-km-long access-controlled expressway in Maharashtra. It is one of the country’s longest greenfield road projects connecting Mumbai and the state’s third-largest city Nagpur. It was built at a cost of Rs 55,000 crore.