Godhra: Construction has been ongoing for the 1,386 km-long, 8-lane Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, which passes through Gujarat. The expressway has been divided into two sections and multiple packages for smoother construction management. The Delhi-Vadodara section of the expressway connects Godhra town to Vadodara, with Packages 29 to 31 falling under this stretch.

Among these three packages, Package 29 has been completed, according to National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) data on September 1, while work is still in progress on Packages 30 and 31. Ground reports indicate that these two packages are also nearing completion, and once fully operational, people will be able to travel from Godhra to Bharuch using the expressway, as the Vadodara-Bharuch section has already been in operation for some time.

However, there are two major bottlenecks in Package 31, which have been the main reason for the delay, but the resolution of these issues has now begun. Today, we bring you a progress report on these packages based on the latest on-field footage shared by vloggers on YouTube.

Package 29

Package 29, which begins at Godhra Interchange and ends at Kalol Interchange after around 22 km, is 100% complete.

Package 30

Package 30 begins at Kalol Interchange and ends at Pratapnagar in Vadodara district. This package, being built by Patel Infrastructure Limited, is approximately 21 km long and around 94% complete. Ground visuals show that, when moving from Pratapnagar towards Kalol, bitumen-laying work has been completed, with only lane marking and plantation work pending in a few stretches. Further along, all works—including crash barriers and signboard installation—have been completed. Only a few patches of less than 100 meters remain, where some finishing work is pending, and some service-related development is still underway.

One of the major works that was pending in the last update was the construction of a 2 km-long bridge over the Narmada Canal, which has now been completed. Additionally, lane marking, crash barriers, and finishing work have also been completed. Near the end of this package, the toll plaza building at the Kalol Interchange is ready, and the interchange itself appears complete according to ground visuals.

Package 31

As for Package 31, it is noteworthy that this is the last package of the Delhi-Vadodara section. Beyond this, the Vadodara-Virar section of the expressway begins. If traveling from Gujarat towards Delhi, Package 31 begins at the Ahmedabad-Vadodara Expressway NE1 Interchange. This 19.5 km-long package, built by PNC Infratech Pvt. Ltd., is somewhat complete, with bitumen-laying work almost finished according to on-ground visuals.

One major bottleneck in this package has been a high-tension line passing through the middle, which has not yet been shifted. As a result, a patch in that section has not seen road construction. Beyond this high-tension line, work on the expressway is fully complete, including crash barriers, lane marking, plantation, and other finishing work.

Another bottleneck in this package, which is over 96% complete, is again due to a high-tension line. However, the work is likely to be completed soon, as new progress—specifically the erection of a large high-tension tower—has already begun, indicating that the shifting of the line will be possible shortly.

In conclusion, it appears that as soon as the high-tension line work is completed, the expressway might be opened for public use, likely by the end of the year. The monsoon will end soon, allowing construction work to pick up pace. Overall, visuals suggest that the entire Godhra to Vadodara stretch is nearly complete, and traffic movement will be possible once the two major bottlenecks in Package 31 are resolved. DeshGujarat