Delhi-Mumbai Expressway Update: Surat-Maharashtra stretch delayed, completion pushed to...

The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, project which promises to transform infrastructure of India, is facing further delays. A 140-km stretch between Surat and the Gujarat-Maharashtra border requires additional acceleration due to delays in construction work, as reported by News18.

The final 25 kilometre section, which consists of five packages between Surat and Vadodara, has over 50% of the work finished. Only one of the five parts of the expressway packages that go from Surat to the state border is significantly delayed. Two of these packages have progress rates below 10 percent, while one of the 25-kilometer packages is still unfinished at less than 30 percent. Over a thirty-kilometer stretch, the construction teams have finished about half of the work.

The Madhya Pradesh expressway, which is roughly 250 km long, is finished and in operational. While the stretch beneath the spur is almost finished and could be completed this year, Haryana's main expressway section is also completely functional. There are still a few minor sections being built, particularly the tunnel improvements in Rajasthan. Government officials told News18 that it will take an extra ten to twelve months for Rajasthan to finish its expressway segment. According to officials, some parts of the Maharashtra expressway won't be finished until the end of 2026.

53 packages and spurs are being developed for the 1,386-kilometer project, some of which are already operational.  As of July 2024, 26 packages have been finished, representing 82% of the physical work progress, according to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.  The operational segments of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway currently total 619 kilometers, covering the Delhi-Dausa-Sawai Madhopur, Jhalawar-Ratlam-MP/Gujarat border areas, and the Vadodara-Bharuch stretch. The ministry projected October 2025 as the new completion date, with 1,136 km of the expressway already completed.

The Delhi-Vadodara (845 km) and Vadodara-Mumbai (450 km) stretches are the two main parts of the expressway. While the Mumbai to Vadodara stretch was initially supposed to be finished by October 2025, the Vadodara to Mumbai section was supposed to be finished this month. It was expected that the 90-kilometer DND-Sohna and Jewar segment will be finished by July 2025.

NH-48 now serves as the route for road links between Delhi and Mumbai; these routes span 1,440 km and are hampered by high traffic. At a cost of more than one lakh crore rupees, the new expressway will link major cities in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Delhi. It will reduce the total travel distance to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority in Navi Mumbai by approximately 180 kilometers and cut travel time in half.

The half finished Delhi-Mumbai expressway is already the longest in India, surpassing the length of all other expressway in the nation before it is finished, according to a July 2024 News18 story.