The prospect of driving from Gurugram to Vadodara in just 10 hours is moving closer to reality as India’s longest expressway nears full operationalisation. The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, a 1,386-km, eight-lane corridor being built at a cost of Rs 95,000 crore, is set to cut travel time between Gurugram and Vadodara by more than half, from the current 20-22 hours to around 10-12 hours.
A major milestone has been the completion of a 4.9-km tunnel in Kota, Rajasthan, India’s first eight-lane road tunnel. The tunnel passes beneath the ecologically sensitive Mukundara Hills Tiger Reserve, enabling traffic to move through the area without disturbing wildlife while eliminating a long and winding stretch of road that previously added hours to the journey. The Kota section had been one of the final bottlenecks preventing seamless travel along the corridor.
Beginning near Sohna in Gurugram, the expressway runs south through Haryana for 129 km before entering Rajasthan, where it passes through Alwar, Dausa and Kota over a distance of 373 km. It then traverses Madhya Pradesh through Mandsaur and Ratlam for 244 km before entering Gujarat for the final 426-km stretch through Vadodara, Bharuch and Surat, ultimately terminating near JNPT in Mumbai. In total, the corridor spans six states — Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
The access-controlled expressway has been designed for speeds of up to 120 kmph and features no traffic signals, grade crossings or slow-moving vehicles. It also includes a 21-metre-wide median, allowing for future expansion to 12 lanes if required.
The Gurugram-Dausa section has already been operational for some time, while stretches between Dausa and Vadodara are nearing completion. In Gujarat, the Godhra-Vadodara section was opened for trial runs in April 2026. The remaining stretch between Vadodara and Mumbai is expected to be completed by mid-2026, bringing the prospect of a full Delhi-Mumbai journey in around 12 hours within reach before the end of the year.
Beyond reducing travel times, the expressway is expected to lower logistics costs between Delhi and Mumbai, support economic activity across four industrial states, and improve freight and passenger connectivity to secondary cities such as Kota, Ratlam and Bharuch.
For commuters in Gurugram and businesses with supply chains extending into Gujarat, the long-awaited transformation in road connectivity is now close at hand.
