All About About Delhi-Mumbai Expressway

We all are excited for the newly built Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, as it is anticipated to cut down the travel time from India’s capital city Delhi to the financial capital Mumbai by 12 hours.

However, the expressway is only partially operational and will be fully operational in 2026. Today, in this blog, you will find all the essential details regarding the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway without any jargon and complex data sets.

Overview of Delhi-Mumbai Expressway

       •  The expressway is 1350 km long
       •  It is an 8-lane expressway, expandable up to 12 lanes
       •  The foundation stone was laid in March 2019
       •  Expected to be completed by 2026

What is the cost of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway?

The total cost is $13.1 billion (1 Lac Crore)

Latest News on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway

The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway was anticipated to be completed in 2025, but due to some technical and land acquisition problems, it got delayed and now the expected completion date is moved to 2026.

Which cities are connected to the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway?

The Delhi–Mumbai Expressway connects the Sohna Elevated Corridor near Delhi to Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Maharashtra. It passes through several places, including Dausa, Kota, Ratlam, Vadodara, and Surat.

This expressway goes through the Union Territory of Delhi (12 km) and the states of Haryana (129 km), Rajasthan (373 km), Madhya Pradesh (244 km), Gujarat (426 km), and Maharashtra (171 km).

The main stretch of the expressway runs from Sohna to Virar, covering 1,198 km. In addition, it has two extensions: the DND–Faridabad–KMP spur (59 km) and the Virar–JNPT spur (92 km), making the total length 1,350 km.

Routes Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor

At the Delhi end, the Delhi–Mumbai Expressway has two main entry/exit points: DND Flyway, Maharani Bagh in Delhi, and Alipur village, north of Sohna in Haryana. Traffic from both ends heading to Vadodara/Mumbai merges at the double trumpet interchange with the KMP Expressway at Khalilpur village in Nuh district, Haryana. The greenfield alignment is as follows:

Section 1: DND–Faridabad–KMP

Delhi (12 km): Starts at the junction of DND Flyway and Ring Road, Maharani Bagh. Passes through Khizrabad, Batla House, and Shaheen Bagh along the Yamuna River. Moves along the Agra Canal from Okhla Vihar metro station to Mithapur. Second entry ramp near Kalindi Kunj metro station (from Noida to Mithapur). Exits Delhi near Mithapur Chowk.

Haryana (47 km): Crosses the Agra Canal at Sehatpur Bridge, Faridabad. Continues on the Faridabad bypass road to Kail Gaon, Ballabhgarh. Intersects NH-2 near Kail Gaon village. Crosses NH-919 at Hajipur village, Gurgaon district. Toll Plaza at Kiranj, Nuh district (56 km from DND start). Merges with the KMP Expressway at Khalilpur village.

Section 2: Sohna–KMP–Vadodara

Haryana (79 km): Begins at Alipur village, Gurgaon. Intersects NH-919 at Sancholi village. Toll plaza at Hilalpur, Nuh district. Merges with the KMP Expressway at Khalilpur village. Passes through Naurangabad, Khanpur Ghati, and Ferozepur Jhirka. Exits Haryana at Kolgaon village, Nuh district.

Rajasthan (373 km): Enters Rajasthan at Munpur Karmala village, Alwar district. Passes through Alwar, Dausa, and Bundi districts. Intersects with several highways (NH-14, NH-21, NH-52, etc.). Exits Rajasthan at Moondiya village, Kota district.

Madhya Pradesh (244 km): Enters Madhya Pradesh at Dhabla Madhosingh village, Mandsaur district. Passes through Mandsaur, Ratlam, and Jhabua districts. Crosses the Chambal River and several state highways. Reaches Gujarat at Chhayan village, Dahod district.

Section 3: Vadodara–Virar

Gujarat (277 km): Starts at Vadodara, passing through Samiyala, Laxmipura, Dehgam, and Kim. Intersects NH-48 and NH-53. Reaches the Maharashtra border near Valsad.

Maharashtra (79 km): Crosses into Maharashtra and reaches Virar in Palghar district.

Section 4: Virar–JNPT

Maharashtra (92 km): Starts at Virar, passing through Amane and Badlapur. Ends at JNPT, Raigad district.

What is the current status of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway today?

I am writing this blog on 22 January 2025, as of now 80 percent of the work on the expressway has been completed and the rest of the work is anticipated to be completed by 2026.

Construction Phases and State Wise Package

Delhi-Mumbai Expressway World Record

In Gujarat, Patel Infrastructure set a world record by laying 2.58 km of pavement-quality concrete (PQC) on a 4-lane road (covering a total of 10.32 lane-km) in just 24 hours. The work began at 8 a.m. on February 1, 2021, and finished by 8 a.m. the next day. The task was completed using a German-made Wirtgen concrete paving machine, 18.75 meters wide.

Special Features of the Delhi–Mumbai Expressway

Wayside Amenities

The expressway will have 93 wayside amenities, which will offer various services such as:

       •  ATMs
       •  Hotels
       •  Retail shops
       •  Food courts
       •  Charging stations for electric vehicles
       •  Fuel stations

It will also be the first expressway in India to have helipads and fully equipped trauma centers located every 100 km for accident victims.

Electric Highway

The expressway plans to have a special section called an "e-highway," where trucks and buses can run at speeds of up to 120 km/h. This will help reduce logistics costs by 70% because heavy vehicles will run on electricity instead of diesel.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is working on this project, which is expected to be completed by March 2022. The expressway will also have 4 lanes dedicated to electric vehicles.

Environment-Friendly Features

The Delhi–Mumbai Expressway is being designed with environmental protection in mind:

       •  20 lakh trees will be planted along the road, watered using drip irrigation.
       •  A rainwater harvesting system will be placed every 500 meters.
       •  The expressway will use a combination of solar energy and state grid power for lighting.

Wildlife Crossings

The expressway will include 5 wildlife crossings over a 2.5 km stretch, built to protect animals:

One of the crossings will be a tunnel in Mukundara Hills National Park, India’s first 8-lane wide tunnel.
There will be noise barrier walls 8 meters tall on both sides of the expressway in wildlife areas to reduce the impact of traffic on animals.
The expressway will pass through four important tiger reserves in Rajasthan: Sariska, Mukundara Hills, Ranthambore, and Ramgarh Vishdhari.

Experts suggest more wildlife crossings are needed in some areas, such as between Sariska and Ranthambore, and near Faridabad, to protect leopards and other wildlife.

Inter-connectivity of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway

The expressway will be connected to several other expressways across different states, including:

       •  Delhi–Haryana–UP: It will connect with the DND Flyway, Western Peripheral Expressway, and Trans-Haryana Expressway.
       •  Rajasthan–MP–Maharashtra–Telangana: It will link with the Kota–Indore Expressway and Mumbai–Nagpur Expressway.
       •  Gujarat: A new spur will connect it to the Vadodara–Ankleshwar Expressway and Ahmedabad–Vadodara Expressway.
       •  Maharashtra: It will link with the Mumbai–Nagpur Expressway and Mumbai–Pune Expressway.

Side Spurs

The expressway will also have several side spurs to connect other major cities along the route in the future. Some key side spurs include:

       •  Faridabad–Jewar–Khurja Expressway: A 31 km spur will connect Noida International Airport in Jewar with Faridabad Bypass, Haryana.
       •  Bandikui–Jaipur Expressway: This spur is currently under construction, connecting Bandikui to Jaipur.

Timeline for the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway

The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is a landmark project by the central government, which will ease the connectivity between Delhi and Mumbai and will cut down the travel time by 12 hours.

The expressway is also anticipated to be the hub of industries alongside and a logistics hub. Due to the expressway and its branches of connectivity throughout NCR and various regions, it will witness a real estate boom.