The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, designed to drastically reduce travel time between the two megacities to just 12 hours, has faced yet another delay. The project, initially set to be finished by the end of 2024, has been pushed back to October 2025, as announced by Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari.
In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha on July 31, Gadkari revealed that while the construction of India’s longest expressway is currently 80% complete, it will require at least one more year to be fully realized. This delay, as reported by Hindustan Times, is attributed to various obstacles that have hampered construction progress.
The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, stretching an impressive 1,386 km, has encountered several missed deadlines due to these delays. By June, a significant 1,136 km length of the expressway had been constructed. However, the remaining sections, including 27 spurs, continue to be under construction.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) first embarked on this ambitious project in 2018, with an initial completion target of five years. The foundation stone was laid by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari in March 2019, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first 209 km stretch between Sohna in Haryana and Dausa in Rajasthan on February 12 last year.
Gadkari emphasized that the expressway, once complete, will cut the current 24-hour road journey between Delhi and Mumbai in half. Moreover, the expressway will significantly reduce travel times between Delhi and cities like Jaipur, bringing them to approximately three hours.
The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, operational in phases, will allow light vehicles to travel at speeds of up to 120 kmph on one of India’s widest highways. Its completion promises to revolutionize travel between Delhi and Mumbai, significantly impacting the flow of people and goods across the country.
