Mumbai-Goa highway NH-66 delays to impact Ganpati festival travel plans for Konkan devotees

Highway work lags spark travel woes ahead of Ganesh festival.

Critical unfinished sections of the Mumbai-Goa highway are causing significant anxiety for thousands of devotees preparing to travel to their hometowns in the Konkan region for the upcoming Ganeshotsav festival.

According to a TOI report, the roadworks on National Highway 66 (NH-66) in the Raigad and Ratnagiri districts are severely restricting vehicle mobility, leading to fears of major traffic congestion, extended journey times and safety hazards. This is in stark contrast to the section in Sindhudurg district, which is reported to be nearly 100% complete.

The lagging work progress has prompted state authorities and politicians to intervene with support measures. They are now offering free train and bus travel, toll exemptions and other assistance for Konkan residents until their return after the festivities, the TOI report noted.

The massive infrastructure project is being executed by two agencies. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is handling an 84.6km stretch from Panvel to Indapur in Raigad at a cost of Rs 483 crore.

Meanwhile, the Public Works Department's National Highway division is constructing a much larger 366km section, including an extension, from Indapur to Zarap in Sindhudurg at a collective cost of Rs 6,100 crore.

The current completion figures reveal the scale of the challenge. The NHAI's Panvel-Indapur stretch is 86% complete.

Within the PWD-NH's portion, the Indapur-Vadpale (27km) section in Raigad is only 73% finished. In Ratnagiri, the Arawali-Kante stretch is 81% complete and the Kante-Waked section is 86% done.

While the overall work in Ratnagiri stands at 93%, the crucial Chiplun flyover on the Parshuram Ghat - Arawali section remains unfinished.

Activist and engineer Chaitanya Patil highlighted the very real consequences of these delays for motorists. He was cited by TOI as saying, "There are seven traffic mess spots between Pen and Mangaon talukas in Raigad district. This leads to more consumption of time and fuel, accidents, increase in pollution and slows ambulances."

In response to the ongoing issues, the state government has extended the overall completion deadline for the entire Mumbai-Goa highway to March 2026.

This is a further pushback from the September 2025 deadline previously communicated to the Lok Sabha by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, who had cited delays in land acquisition and contractors' cash flow problems.

In a recent move to mitigate the immediate dangers, the PWD-NH division has initiated 24x7 pothole filling and repair works on the existing highway.

Furthermore, a meeting chaired by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar this month reportedly approved an additional expenditure of Rs 21 crore for ancillary works including sub-ways, a trauma centre and toilets at regular intervals.