Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has expressed strong disappointment over the prolonged delay in widening the Mumbai-Goa Highway, saying he is ashamed that the project has taken nearly 15 years to reach completion. He also said he would not attend the inauguration of the upgraded highway once the work is completed.
Gadkari said he plans to travel from Mumbai to Goa by road in October to personally inspect the route and determine whether the upgraded highway has actually made travel easier for commuters.
Speaking after inaugurating a separate six-lane elevated road corridor near Porvorim in Goa, Gadkari said he had already decided against attending the Mumbai-Goa Highway inauguration because of the project's long delay. He said his road journey in October would allow him to assess the condition of the highway and the convenience it offers travellers.
The minister also said he intended to take strict action against contractors and officials responsible for delays and poor execution. He said he wanted to set a record for blacklisting contractors and suspending officials involved in infrastructure projects that suffer from prolonged delays or inadequate implementation.
The Mumbai-Goa Highway widening project began in 2011 with the objective of converting the existing two-lane road into a four-lane highway. The project was originally expected to be completed by 2016, with the proposed upgrade aimed at reducing the travel time between Mumbai and Goa from nearly 12 hours to around six hours.
However, the project has repeatedly missed its completion deadlines. Although most of the highway has now been widened, several important sections, bypasses, bridges and related works are still pending.
The government informed Parliament in February that 465 km of the 485-km Panvel-to-Goa/Maharashtra-border section had been four-laned. Around 20 km remained under construction, with June 2026 set as the target for completion. That deadline has since passed.
Gadkari has now estimated the overall progress at around 93-94%. Maharashtra officials had also put the completion level at roughly 90-95% ahead of the Ganesh festival. While the Chiplun bypass was expected to open after the monsoon, the Mangaon bypass was targeted for January 2027.
As a result, substantial portions of the highway are already open to traffic, but the entire corridor is yet to operate as the continuous four-lane route that was originally planned.
The project has faced different challenges across its multiple construction packages. The Centre has previously attributed delays to land acquisition problems, environmental and other approvals, contractor defaults and slow execution.
The prolonged construction has also raised concerns over road quality. Sections of the upgraded highway developed potholes and surface damage following the first monsoon rains this year. Commuters have continued to encounter diversions, waterlogging, repair work and traffic congestion, with some maintenance activity further affecting traffic movement.
Safety concerns have also emerged along the route. A monkey overpass constructed near Kannala Animal Sanctuary in 2021 collapsed, adding to criticism over infrastructure quality.
The project has involved expenditure of around Rs 16,000 crore. The large investment has intensified scrutiny of the continuing delays and road conditions, particularly as commuters still encounter unfinished sections more than a decade after construction began.
Toll collection at the Kharpada toll plaza between Panvel and Pen began in May even though some widening, bridge and bypass works were still incomplete.
The overall objective of the project is to establish a continuous four-lane highway connecting Panvel with the Goa-Maharashtra border. Once completed, the corridor is expected to reduce bottlenecks, improve road safety, provide smoother traffic movement through the Konkan region and make travel times between Mumbai and Goa more predictable.
The project also involves bypasses, bridges, flyovers and other structures designed to divert through traffic away from congested towns and difficult sections. Some structures are being developed with greater capacity than the main highway. The 1.84-km Chiplun flyover, for example, is being constructed as a six-lane structure even though the wider highway is being upgraded to four lanes.
Once the entire corridor becomes operational, the Mumbai-Goa Highway is expected to strengthen connectivity between Mumbai, the Konkan region and Goa, while supporting tourism and economic activity along the route.
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