The Republic of Korea will collaborate with India to monitor and operate the 701-kilometer Mumbai-Nagpur Super Communication Expressway, which is expected to be the country’s longest expressway. According to authorities, this would be the first time in the country that an intelligent transportation system (ITS) will be installed on an expressway to ensure motorist safety and avoid accidents.
The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) is the key body for the construction of the eight-lane expressway, which is expected to be the country’s fastest at 150 kilometers per hour and cost Rs 55,000 crore.
The finances for the system are being supplied through a linked loan from the Republic of Korea’s Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF), according to officials.
Through CCTV, a centralized system on the roadway will be able to monitor traffic on the highways.
MSRDC official Statements
“The loan is being handled through the Indian government’s Department of Economic Affairs, and the contract with the Korean government has already been finalized.” According to a top MSRDC official, the two countries will soon finalize an agreement on the subject.
According to the official, Korean experts and system integrators have already conducted a survey of the highway and will be installing the most advanced traffic control technologies. The technology will be used for two years by the Korean business before being transferred to the MSRDC.
“Some of the systems that comprise the transportation system are vehicle detection, traffic violation control and surveillance, video incident detection, visual messaging service, drone-based route surveillance, lane control
systems, tunnel management system, weigh in motion, speed and lane enforcement,” said an MSRDC official.
Officials anticipate that if the technology is put on the expressway, it would help all other expressways now being built or managed in Maharashtra and other states.
According to the official, tunnels will include a tunnel traffic management center that will automatically seal the entry in the event of a catastrophic accident. While they are still a safe distance away, vehicles approaching
the tunnel will be warned that the tunnel has been closed via an automatic system.
The technology will also be utilized to collect electronic toll fees. At traffic control centers every 100 kilometers along the road, it will be handled and monitored.
Toll collecting systems (TCS), integrated traffic management systems (ITMS), and an optical fiber cable (OFC) network will make up the ITMS.
The expressway’s toll collecting systems will be set up as a closed system, with all toll lanes being FASTag-compliant.
Commuters will not need to stop for toll payment while traveling on the expressway, according to the official, because toll plazas are positioned on the exit/entry ramps, and there will only be two toll plazas on the main
carriageway, at Waifal in Nagpur and Nimbvali in Thane.
Smooth Travel
The concrete road’s construction under the twin tunnel has been completed, which is the most important task after the tunneling work.
The journey time between Nagpur and Mumbai would be decreased from 15 hours to 6-7 hours once the project is fully operational. In addition to the present greenery, the government is apparently intending to build a 250 Mw solar plant along the corridor and plant trees.
