Delhi-Surat highway on fast track: 300 km ready, 67% complete!

The government has set a goal to launch the Delhi-Surat segment on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway by March 2024, as two additional stretches of over 300 km are nearing completion.

According to a Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) document, a 100 km section between Vadodara and Ankleshwar is nearly finished and is ready for inauguration. Another 205 km stretch between Lalsot and Jhalawar is progressing towards completion, with significant advancements in various packages along the route. Out of the total 1,386 km Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, approximately 67 percent of the work on the 920 km stretch has been accomplished so far. The Ministry plans to open ready sections, with four packages between Vadodara and Ankleshwar expected to be operational in the upcoming weeks.

Nevertheless, two crucial sections, a 26 km-long segment has reached 75 percent completion, while an eight km-long portion has progressed to 45 percent. The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will traverse through Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra. Priced at around Rs one lakh crore, it is poised to become India's longest expressway, reducing travel time between Delhi and Mumbai from 24 hours to 12 hours and shortening the distance by 130 km.

The project aims to improve connectivity to key economic hubs and contribute to a reduction in CO2 emissions. The entire Delhi-Mumbai section is expected to be open for traffic movement by December 2024, while the Mumbai to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) segment is scheduled for completion in 2025.

News by Rahul Yelligetti