New Delhi: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is set to open a key 4.89-kilometre-long, eight-lane tunnel on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway in Rajasthan’s Kota district by the end of July, marking a major milestone in one of the country’s most ambitious infrastructure projects. The tunnel, which passes through the ecologically sensitive Mukundra Hills and a tiger habitat, is expected to significantly improve connectivity while incorporating measures to protect wildlife.
According to NHAI officials, the tunnel is operationally ready and is currently undergoing final safety-related works before being opened to traffic. The structure forms part of an 8.3-kilometre stretch of the expressway and is regarded as one of the most critical links in the 1,386-kilometre Delhi-Mumbai Expressway.
Measuring 22 metres in width and 11 metres in height, the tunnel is among the widest road tunnels in India. Its construction involved navigating diverse geological formations, including sandstone, shale, siltstone, mudstone and limestone, making it one of the most technically challenging components of the expressway.
Alongside the tunnel, a 26-kilometre section between Sawai Madhopur and Laban in Rajasthan is also expected to become operational by the end of July. Once these stretches are opened, the entire Delhi, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh section of the expressway will be fully functional.
The NHAI has also announced that another 148-kilometre stretch connecting the Madhya Pradesh-Gujarat border to Vadodara is scheduled to open by October 2026. This will extend the operational length of the expressway to 912 kilometres, providing uninterrupted connectivity between Delhi and Vadodara.
The tunnel is located between Ummedpura and Nayagaon villages in Kota district and has been constructed by a joint venture of Dilip Buildcon Ltd and Altis-Holding Corporation. Initially planned as a 30-month project with a completion target of January 2024, construction faced repeated delays due to heavy rainfall and significant water ingress during excavation. The site experienced flooding in 2022, 2023 and 2024, prompting engineers to modify the design to address geological challenges and preserve the environmentally sensitive region.
The project cost also increased from ₹1,000 crore to ₹1,250 crore due to the delays and additional engineering requirements.
To minimise the impact on wildlife, particularly tigers inhabiting the Mukundra Hills, the 8.3-kilometre project includes an open ramp, a covered tunnel and an underground mountain tunnel. Additionally, 480-metre and 1,084-metre cut-and-cover sections have been built on either side of the tunnel, allowing animals to move freely across the corridor without disrupting their natural habitat.
The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, being developed at an estimated cost of over ₹1 lakh crore, is poised to become India’s longest expressway upon completion. The corridor is expected to reduce travel time between Delhi and Mumbai from approximately 24 hours to nearly 12 hours, enhancing trade, logistics and passenger movement across multiple states.
Several sections of the expressway have already been opened over the past three years, including the Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot stretch and key segments in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.
