Delhi-Mumbai Expressway: What's open, what isn't and when it may finish

The Limkheda-Godhra section in Gujarat, about 55 km long, opened to motorists in October, DeshGujarat reports. Its report says the last gap in this part of the route is Package 26, between Limkheda and the Madhya Pradesh border. That work is expected to finish by December 2026 or January 2027, which would make the road continuous from Delhi to Kharel in Navsari district.

Road Minister Nitin Gadkari told the Rajya Sabha on 25 March that 929 km of the project's 1,445 km scope was operational. That's about 64%. The larger figure includes connecting spurs, which is why the expressway is also commonly described as 1,350 km. These numbers predate the openings since then, so the actual open length is now higher.

In March, the 912 km Delhi-Vadodara section had 697 km operational and 215 km under implementation. Gadkari's reply put its target at June 2026. It wasn't fully open by then, because Package 26 was still under construction in October. Wikipedia's project page cites a December 2026 expectation. Package 26 alone is about 30 km, so a small stretch is holding up a much longer drive.

Sohna-Dausa came first in February 2023. The Madhya Pradesh section followed that September, and Vadodara-Bharuch in February 2024. Kota-Laban opened in December 2024 and Bharuch-Kharel in January 2026. Then came Vadodara-Godhra on a trial basis in April 2026. Motorists can already drive from Delhi to Thandla in Madhya Pradesh without a break, DeshGujarat says.

Packages 8, 9 and 10, between Gandeva and the Maharashtra border, are the slowest. DeshGujarat listed them at about 5%, 10% and 42-43% complete in April. NHAI terminated the original Package 8 contract and issued a fresh tender. Gadkari blamed delays mainly on contractors, and the target is March 2028. These figures are months old, so they need a fresh official update.

The sanctioned cost is ₹96,547 crore. Of that, ₹77,558 crore had been spent by December 2025, or about 80%. The unfinished southern packages now push full completion to 2028. DeshGujarat says the project's original completion target was 2024. The full route has been promised to cut Delhi-Mumbai travel from about 24 hours to about 12.

Limkheda toll collection was scheduled to resume on 1 November. DeshGujarat says petrol pumps and restaurants weren't yet available on the new stretch, so carry fuel, food and water. For a full Delhi-Mumbai trip, the expressway won't be continuous yet. Watch for Package 26's opening around year-end, then NHAI's next update on the three southern packages.