The Maharashtra Government has proposed a new expressway, the Konkan Expressway, to connect Mumbai with Goa. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) will oversee the construction of this 376-km-long, six-lane access-controlled expressway. According to DNA India, this Greenfield expressway will traverse the scenic Konkan coast, and the preparation of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) is already underway.
The Konkan Expressway will link Sindhudurg to Panvel (Navi Mumbai) through Raigad and Ratnagiri. Currently, it takes 12-13 hours to travel between Mumbai and Sindhudurg, but with this new expressway, travel time could be cut to just 6 hours. The expressway aims to enhance travel comfort, significantly reduce journey times, and boost tourism while creating job opportunities in the surrounding regions.
The MSRDC is currently seeking approval from the Environment Department for the project, as reported by NBT. NEWS 18 has quoted an MSRDC official stating that the expressway will feature 14 interchanges. The project is estimated to cost ₹68,000 crore and will require 3,792 hectares of land, including 146 hectares of forest land.
Meanwhile, the already approved Mumbai-Goa Expressway is expected to be operational by December this year. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the National Highway Public Works Department (NH PWD) are leading the construction efforts on the existing Mumbai-Goa Highway (Highway 66), which spans 460 km and is divided into 11 phases. Originally planned for completion in 2016, the project saw a 99 percent completion rate for the 42-km stretch between Panvel and Kasu. The highway, initially designed as a two-lane road, was upgraded to a four-lane project in 2011.