Nails Found Hammered On Nagpur-Mumbai Expressway, MSRDC Issues Clarification Over Rumoured Robbery Bid

Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) on Wednesday clarified that aluminium nozzles were used temporarily on the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway during its recent maintenance work. 

The clarification was issued following several complaints of nails being hammered into the expressway, leading to tyres of multiple cars getting punctured. There was also rumours that a robbery gang was targeting people on the highway.

The objects caused tyre punctures in at least three cars near Daulatabad in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, NDTV Marathi reported. Following the outrage, MSRDC said the contractor responsible for maintenance did not take enough safety precautions. 

The maintenance work was completed at 11:30 p.m. on Sept. 9, with traffic diverted during the process. However, some speeding vehicles ignored the diversion and ran over the aluminium nozzles, resulting in the tyre punctures around 12:10 a.m. on Sept. 10. Subsequently, the highway patrol arrived and the nozzles were removed by 5 a.m., the report added.

Earlier, viral videos showed sharp objects embedded in a repaired patch on the high-speed road. This caused panic among commuters as rumours spread that the move was part of a robbery plot. More than 100 nail-like objects were patched on the road, the videos showed. 

One of the videos showed about a dozen people walking around the patched nails on the affected section of the road. Later, MSRDC explained that aluminium nozzles were used to fill minor cracks in a 15-metre section of the Mumbai-bound lanes.

Aluminium nozzles were installed on the road for "epoxy grouting" during maintenance work, according to MSRDC. Now, the operations on the road, officially known as Hindu Hrudaysmarat Balasaheb Thackeray Samruddhi Mahamarg, are normal.

In its clarification, the agency said there was inadequate traffic diversion security at the site, but no accidents were reported due to the incident. Meanwhile, MSRDC has imposed a fine on the contractor.