Mumbai-Goa highway deadline now March 2026: What’s causing the delay?

Mumbai-Goa highway

The long-delayed Mumbai-Goa highway project has once again been given a new completion date. After facing criticism for repeated postponements, the Maharashtra government has now set March 2026 as the deadline to finish the 434-km-long project, which was launched way back in 2011, Hindustan Times reported.

According to the state Public Works Department (PWD), about 95 per cent of the work is already complete. However, the most crucial and busiest 84-km stretch between Panvel and Indapur continues to face hurdles. This section has been marred by construction delays, realignment of flyovers, and incomplete bypasses, leaving motorists frustrated. During a recent presentation to state public works minister Shivendraraje Bhosale, officials assured that the pending work would finally be completed by March 31, 2026.

The project, officially called National Highway 66 (NH-66) and also known as the Konkan Expressway, was expected to transform road travel between Mumbai and Goa. It promised to convert the old two-lane highway into a modern four-lane corridor, reducing travel time from the current 12 hours to just 6 hours.

What are the challenges?

The project has been divided into 10 construction packages. The first two, covering Panvel to Indapur, are under the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), while the remaining eight are being handled by the state PWD.

While progress on most packages is strong, with some stretches like Talgov to Zarap already 100 per cent complete, the NHAI-managed section has struggled. The Panvel-Indapur portion is only about 73 per cent complete, according to the HT report. Problems with contractors have further slowed work. The initial contractor was replaced after failing to deliver, and new contracts were awarded to Lion Engineering Consultants in late 2022 and early 2023. The revised deadlines for these two stretches are now September 2025 and March 2026.

Other packages are in more advanced stages, ranging between 80 per cent and 95 per cent completion. PWD officials explained that six major flyovers between Vadkhal and Mahad have been stuck for years due to realignment requirements. Two bypasses, at Indapur and Mangaon, will also take an additional 18 months, though they are not counted as part of this main project.

Despite the delays, officials claim that interim measures have been taken to make travel bearable.

Missed deadlines

Public works minister Bhosale Bhosale blamed the heavy rainfall in the region for the delayed work and potholes along the highway. “The patchwork done before the Ganpati festival has washed out and needs to be done again. The officers and contractors have been asked to complete the work by December and ensure pothole-free roads during Ganpati,” he said.

The project has already seen multiple deadline extensions over the years. In April, Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari informed the Lok Sabha that the project would be finished by September 2025. He cited delays in land acquisition, cash flow problems among contractors, and other pre-construction bottlenecks as reasons for the repeated deferments. While many of those issues have now been resolved, the latest state deadline extends the wait even further, to March 2026.