Delhi Mumbai Expressway Mukundra Hills 8 Lane Tunnel Rajasthan Opening July End

The 4.89-km-long eight lane tunnel on Delhi-Mumbai expressway in Rajasthan’s Kota district is set to open by the end of July, a senior official of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) said on Tuesday.

The tunnel, part of an 8.3-km section passing through the Mukundra Hills and a tiger habitat, is one of the most critical links in the 1,386-km expressway project. With a width and height of 22 metres and 11 metres, respectively, it is also one of the widest tunnels in the country. It passes through different rock masses and substrates that include sandstone, shale, siltstone, mudstone and limestone.

Apart from the tunnel section, another 26-km section from Sawai Madhopur to Laban in Rajasthan will open for traffic by July end.

The entire Delhi, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh section of the expressway will become operational when the tunnel opens, said the officials. Another 148-km stretch from MP-Gujarat border to Vadodara is scheduled to open by October, 2026. This will take the operational length of the expressway to 912 km, connecting Delhi with Vadodara.

The official added that the tunnel is operationally ready, and is currently undergoing a few safety works.

The tunnel falls between Kota’s Ummedpura and Nayagaon villages, and has been constructed by a joint venture of Dilip Buildcon Ltd and Altis-Holding Corporation. It was originally a 30-month project slated for completion in January 2024, but was delayed due to heavy water ingress and heavy rainfall during excavation. It had even submerged in 2022, 2023 and 2024, necessitating design modifications to account for the eco-sensitive nature of the region.

The project cost was also revised to Rs 1,250 crore from Rs 1,000 crore, the NHAI official said.

The 8.3-km project involves the construction of the highway, an open ramp, a covered tunnel and an underground or a mountain tunnel. On either side of the tunnel are 480-metre and 1,084-metre cut-and-cover sections, designed to allow wildlife, including tigers, to move freely across the corridor without disturbance.

Once completed, the Delhi-Mumbai expressway will be the country’s longest expressway at a cost of over Rs 1 lakh crore. It is expected to reduce travel time between Delhi and Mumbai to about 12 hours from 24 hours.

The first 246-km Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot stretch in Rajasthan was opened on February 12, 2023. This was followed by the opening of 100-km Laban-Gopalpura, 25-km Chechat-Jhalawar, 224-km Jhalwar-Ratlam-MP and Gujarat border and 67-km Bandikui-Jaipur sections.

Dheeraj Mishra is a Principal Correspondent with the Business Bureau of The Indian Express. He plays a critical role in covering India's massive infrastructure sectors, providing in-depth reporting on the connectivity lifelines of the nation. Expertise & Focus Areas: Mishra’s journalism is focused on two of the country's most capital-intensive and public-facing ministries: Ministry of Railways: Tracking the operations, safety, and development of India's vast railway network. Ministry of Road Transport & Highways: Covering policy decisions, infrastructure projects, and highway development. What sets Mishra apart is his rigorous use of the Right to Information (RTI) Actas a primary tool for news gathering. By relying on official data and government records, he ensures a high degree of accuracy and trustworthiness in his reporting. This data-driven approach has resulted in numerous impactful reports that hold public institutions accountable and bring transparency to government operations. Find all stories by Dheeraj Mishra here ... Read More