Delhi-Mumbai Expressway Tunnel Through Tiger Habitat to Open by July-End
The 4.89-kilometre-long, eight-lane tunnel on the 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-kilometre section passing through the Mukundra Hills and a tiger habitat, is one of the most critical links in the 1,386-kilometre 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 rock masses and substrates including sandstone, shale, siltstone, mudstone, and limestone.
Apart from the tunnel section, another 26-kilometre 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, officials said. Another 148-kilometre stretch from the Madhya Pradesh-Gujarat border to Vadodara is scheduled to open by October 2026. This will take the operational length of the expressway to 912 kilometres, 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-kilometre project involves the construction of the highway, an open ramp, a covered tunnel, and an underground or 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-kilometre Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot stretch in Rajasthan was opened on February 12, 2023. This was followed by the opening of 100-kilometre Laban-Gopalpura, 25-kilometre Chechat-Jhalawar, 224-kilometre Jhalwar-Ratlam-MP and Gujarat border, and 67-kilometre Bandikui-Jaipur sections.
