Mumbai-Goa Highway, also known as National Highway 66, connects Maharashtra, Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. For a decade, the project of broadening its lanes has been in process. Finally, it will be completed by the coming Ganesh Chaturthi! And it will reduce travel time too. Here’s all about the extension project of the Mumbai-Goa Highway.
Mumbai-Goa Highway Broadening Project
मुंबई – गोवा राष्ट्रीय महामार्गाच्या कामात ही सार्वजनिक बांधकाम विभागाच्या माध्यमातून तातडीच्या उपाययोजना करण्यासाठी सार्वजनिक बांधकाम विभाग प्रयत्नशील आहे. गणपतीच्या आधी या महामार्गावरील एका लेनचे काम पूर्ण करण्याचा विचार आहे.
मुंबई- सिंधुदुर्ग मार्गाचा सविस्तर प्रकल्प अहवालाचे… pic.twitter.com/vwDVRMRN4V— CMO Maharashtra (@CMOMaharashtra) August 8, 2023
Ravindra Chavan, minister of the Public Works Department (PWD), had a meeting with Chief Minister Ekanth Shinde on Tuesday. He said that the 10-year-old project to add four lanes to the Mumbai-Goa highway (NH-66) is expected to be finished before Ganeshotsav the following month.
Also, in a tweet, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde stated that the PWD is attempting to take quick action regarding the National Highway Project between Mumbai and Goa. The Mumbai-Sindhudurg route’s full project report work is currently in its final stages. The 18-hour drive via the Samruddhi Highway only takes 8 to 10 hours to complete. This is helping to increase business options for travellers and farmers.
The government has given the expansion of several such communication facilities top priority and the communication facilities in Konkan will also be increased in this way.
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Travel Time To Be Reduced To 6 Hrs
The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has patched fractures with concrete in several locations along the Panvel to Pen Taluka portion of the Mumbai-Goa highway even though construction is still ongoing. Activists and locals assert that the six-inch concrete layer of the highway repair will not stand up because loaded large cars also utilise the highway part.
YN Gotkar, Deputy general manager of NHAI, stated that without steel, the concrete slab layer cannot support the weight of vehicles. And the bitumen road has numerous potholes and cracks as a result of the weak underground surface.
The 471-kilometre, four-lane Goa Mumbai Highway is anticipated to reduce the distance between the two cities. And the travel time will be reduced to just 6 hours! It is also expected to encourage travel to the undiscovered areas of the Konkan region.
Also Read: Jammu-Srinagar National Highway Blocked Due To Landslide At Ramban; Amarnath Yatra Suspended
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Cover Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons