Delhi-Mumbai Expressway likely be completed in 2026, NHAI plans 15 km link to reduce Morbe-JNPA travel time to 25 mins, check details

The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is coming closer to its completion as its final phase in Maharashtra will see the Talasari to Raite section likely completed in April 2026. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is working to open the section next year. The Talasari to Morbe road is 156 kilometres long and even after its opening operations on this stretch would not take place as there is no connection to the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA). 

How will Talasari to Morbe stretch help improve connectivity?

However, to allow traffic to move smoothly, the NHAI has planned a new 15 kilometre link road between Morbe and the Kalamboli junction, which will help link the expressway to the port and cut travel time to just 25 minutes. Citing officials, a report by Loksatta said that the alignment for this link has been finalised and work on this network will start when the designs are approved. The project is expected to cost around Rs 9,000 crore. 

The Talasari to Morbe stretch is being built rapidly and is likely be completed early in the next year. But due to the non-connectivity beyond Morbe, NHAI will only open the Talasari to Raite stretch presently, which will cover about 140 kilometres. Vehicles will still need to take a long detour from Raite and spend close to an hour to reach JNPA. 

The Delhi-Mumbai expressway was initially planned to connect the expressway to JNPA via the Virar to Alibaug multipurpose corridor under the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC). However, the corridor project has since been left on paper and continued to face delays due to the decision to issue a new tender. This has burdened the NHAI, which now has an added responsibility to let the vehicle movement undisturbed by arranging for a functional port.