Rajkot: Vehicle owners travelling between Jetpur and Rajkot will continue to pay toll tax despite driving on damaged, dusty and congestion-hit roads, as the much-delayed six-lane highway project has now been pushed back to June 2027.

The foundation stone for the Jetpur-Rajkot six-lane highway project was laid at Dhareshwar in Jetpur in September 2022. At the time, the National Highways Authority of India had announced that the project would be completed within two years. However, even after nearly four years, the authority has now stated that the road work will require another one-and-a-half years for completion.

The latest delay comes after approval was granted for an elevated overpass at Korat Chowk near Rajkot. Officials said the Rajkot-Jetpur six-lane road, which was earlier expected to open by January 2027 with 28 overpasses, will now become operational only by June 2027. The additional overpass is also expected to raise the total project cost significantly.

According to project details, 28 small and large bridges are being constructed along the 67-km stretch. So far, 14 bridges have been completed and opened for vehicular traffic, while the remaining structures are expected to be ready by January 2027.

Commuters have expressed frustration over the prolonged delay and poor road conditions. A vehicle driver  said the journey between Jetpur and Rajkot, which earlier took around one-and-a-half hours on the existing four-lane road, now takes between three and four hours due to ongoing construction work, traffic congestion and diversions.

Drivers also complained that despite the broken roads, heavy dust and frequent traffic jams, toll tax continues to be collected at two toll plazas located within a distance of 35 km.

The project cost, initially estimated at around Rs 1,200 crore, is now expected to rise to nearly Rs 1,500 crore due to additional construction requirements.

When the project was announced, the National Highways Authority had claimed that the six-lane highway would reduce travel time between Jetpur and Rajkot to just one hour. Authorities had also projected daily fuel savings worth Rs 45 lakh and a reduction of nearly 11,250 man-hours in travel time.

However, with repeated delays, commuters now fear that the project will ultimately take around five-and-a-half years to complete instead of the originally promised two years. DeshGujarat