[moralfibre]

Originally Posted by psbali

I hope a similar thread can be started for Samruddhi Mahamarg and the new Mumbai-Delhi Highway by those who get regular updates for the same?

Coming up soon. Both these expressways are being built quite fast.

[ashtorque]

Excellent thread @moralfibre. The photos are brilliant.
Being an ex-Mumbaikar and a native of Konkan this subject is very close to my heart. One of the advantages of me moving to Pune is that I didn't have to travel on the infamous Mumbai-Goa road. I have seen my family suffer for couple of decades due to poor and insufficient infrastructure. Unfortunately I have also lost few of the members from my extended family in road accidents on this road. All of these accidents were head-on collisions because most of this so-called highway was a single carriageway. It is very common, even today, that your travel time doubles because of some accident, festive season, rains or because of long weekend rush. Until recently people from Mumbai used to take NH4 to reach to their destination in Konkan even though it meant more kilometers travelled.

The progress of this new highway has been agonizingly slow. I happened to travel from Chiplun to Wadkhal in December 2019 and the completed section were super fun to drive on. I am sure locals who own performant cars/bikes are turning this road in to a drag strip. Looking forward to the completion of this project that will make us all proud.

[aspire]

I studied in Goa for 2 years for my MBA, the roads were so smooth and such a pleasure to ride on, sheer bliss, this with the safe environment that Goa offers resulted in us taking off on trips at any time of the day or night!
Any updates on how the progress of the highway is there in Kerala? I noticed some sections are upgraded from Kollam to Trivandrum, not sure of others.

[Yash98]

Had taken this route on the way back from one of the HVK Monsoon Drive's with my dad in 2017.

The road was smooth for the most part till some 30-40 kms prior to Vadkhal. Progress was slow thanks to it being a dual carriageway, but the greenery and nature made it an enjoyable experience.

However, upon reaching 30 kms or so from Vadkhal at about 7pm, the situation changed drastically. The roadworks meant huge craters and a complete lack of signage which made this a nightmare. The rain only added to the misery. We literally had to physically get out of the car 3-4 times and wipe off the dust from the windshield so we could see clearly. I believe it took us about 1.5 hrs to carefully cover that stretch and FINALLY arrive at Panvel. Avoided the route like plague after that incident and always took NH4 post that harrowing experience.

Glad to see the conditions have improved drastically and this will soon transform into a smooth and fun drive all throughout.

[vivek95]

Originally Posted by vivek95

. Recently, I had driven to Nagothane, near Raigad to pick up some important documents from a friend's home, will share the pics and videos of Karnala and Vadkhal flyover stretch soon. Having said that, from your pics of other sectors, it appears that the construction is of poor quality by Supreme company on the Panvel--Indapur section. I will share pics tomorrow when I am done with my night shift at the hospital starting in sometime.

Here goes my video of the completed 4 / 6 lane stretch of NH17 passing through Karnala area, outside Mumbai. This was on 20th June 2020. You would not need an e-pass to drive to Nagothane as it falls within Mumbai metropolitan region. The road quality is mediocre, doesn't seem like a brand new road. The greenery and hills on both sides made it for an awesome drive. It rained heavily couple of kms before.

https://youtu.be/JPYHbDhw2Ok

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by moralfibre

Back in the 60s until the late 80s, the most thrilling version of travel between Mumbai and Goa was by way of a steamer ship duo of Konkan Shakti and IIRC Konkan sevak. This duo ferried a host of passengers between the coastal capitals of Mumbai and Panaji. Depending on your wallet size, one could opt for a cabin or share an open deck with a hoard of hippies that made Goa their ultimate destination kick starting Goa's advent towards tourism.

What a fabulous compilation this thread - had missed it since a couple of days when it seems to have been published somehow. Just noticed it while browsing - and have duly rated it the fully deserved 5 stars.

I frequent the old stretches of the NH17/NH66 around Raigad very often. Especially the stretches around Dapoli, Murud, Wadkhal, Pali, Mahad. I have been totally disappointed with the horrible states in which the roads were left for months (if not years). Half done, half unpaved/unmarked and extremely treacherous to drive post sunset and during monsoons.

Now that you have compiled the overall progress of the coastal highway from one end to the other - it seems I was only seeing the stretches which were getting the least funding in the ongoing phases of work till then. This project has the potential to change the fortunes of Konkan region like no other project in the past in my honest opinion. The grand project once completes would be one of the best connectivity offerings in the state and in the poorly connected western coastal areas. For a state that for more than 2 decades has nothing but a 90 km Pune-Mumbai Expressway as a sample of so called development, the sheer grandeur and magnitude of the coastal highway project is jaw dropping & commendable (I won't get into whether the State, NHAI or Federal government deserves the credit for it).

Fingers crossed that things move at a good pace & bring jobs, opportunities and great driving locations for all. Hopefully the revenues generated via this, will get utilized in similar developments in the Marathwada & Vidarbh regions too (In addition to the Mumbai - Nagpur highway).

Thanks a million for this compilation @moralfiber & Sahil Pednekar. An extremely enjoyable read. Can't wait to see this route completed & to cruise on it some day in a world without a pandemic!

[Mangesh Borkar]

Woww.. what a lovely detailed update. It seems the highway would be fully completed by Jun'2021. It will easily be one of the best , most popular & most scenic roads in India & should reduce travel time significantly.
Mumbai - Goa - sub 10 hours probably>>>

[stanjohn123]

I have a few drone shots of the new NH 66 construction work on my channel. This is from kanyakumari district.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6-P...obU_ayv9_uOO1T

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCdB..._uOO1T&index=2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blYD..._uOO1T&index=4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAQo..._uOO1T&index=7

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weG9..._uOO1T&index=9

[vivek95]

Anyone who has recently driven on NH17 from Mumbai to Raigad/Alibaug will take note of one thing and that is a remarkable progress on this stretch. Remember the infamous Vadkhal naka junction ?? I have passed through that some 5-6 times earlier in my life and it always used to be one horrendous traffic prone junction. Last time was in 2017 when I had driven Mumbai--Alibaug--Mumbai. Other day on June 20th, when I passed Vadkhal, I was taken back as that junction didn't appear anywhere in sight. It was only few minutes later when I checked Google maps did I realise that there was a nice 6 lane bypass which I had just crossed without being aware that the erstwhile crowded junction was totally bypassed. I forgot to make a video of the same but here is one from the internet.

https://youtu.be/iX9w74_OaZg

[moralfibre]

04Jul'20

#NH66
Mumbai goa highway
Today moving past Rajapur ,we have pics from Oni to Watul
Pc:Pankaj Manjrekar

Link

#Nh66
Mumbai Goa highway
Well surprise surprise!!!the pen city flyover as well as the bridge over rail line is opened for traffic.The incomplete box girder at city Junction had become a landmark for yrs afaik

Link

#nh66
Mumbai Goa highway
The magic of monsoon in konkan !!
Red turns green
1)May'20
2)June'20
Pc:Harshad gundaye

Link

May'20



Jul'20



05Jul'20

#NH66
Mumbai goa highway
Yesterday we covered oni to watul ,today the missed section between Rajapur and Oni and with it we have covered KCC buildcon's section from kankavli to watul and safely say that more than 90% work is done

Link

[ArjunPadmakumar]

Fantastic thread moralfibre!

The amount of work happening on national highways is truly mind-blowing, especially the NH66 passing through the western ghats. I happened to go through the Kochi-Goa stretch many times and although the pass of work was slow, its due to the Flora, Hills and tough terrains as well as occasional opposition due the local folk.
The most spectacular stretch of the Highway is in Goa with two massive bridges Atal Setu(Mandovi 3rd bridge/Mandovi Cable stayed Bridge) and the upcoming Zuari Bridge.

Atal Setu
The Atal Setu has already been opened in 2019 and is a 5.1 km long bridge.The bridge is a 900 m 4 lane bridge with a 550 m cable stay portion and a 3.2 km viaduct approach. The carriageway is at height of 30m and has a speed limit of 70kmph. 2 wheelers are not allowed on the bridge due to occasional strong winds.







The bridge was opened on Republic day 2019 by Late. CM Manohar Parikkar
and Nithin Gadkari.

https://youtu.be/3GKw0WPDM1M

New Zuari Bridge
The New Zuari Bridge is a massive Under construction Cable stayed Bridge over the Zuari river and parallel to the Zuari Railway bridge serving the Konkan railway.The bridge will replace the aging Zuari road bridge.

This is the initial render as of 2016, it has changed a bit

https://youtu.be/SKaNbbyZW44

This section of NH66 consists of 3 segments:
Bambolim to Agassaim 6 lane viaduct(8.2 kms)
8 lane Cable stayed bridge over the Zuari river (640m) and approach roads on both sides (Total 1.084 kms)
Cortalim to Verna 6 lane viaduct (4.3 kms)

https://youtu.be/oG6C8oMRsfs

https://youtu.be/LGWW5rLxW1k

https://youtu.be/iQk_2wkfdGU

The project is undertaken by Dilip Buildcon costs over 2750cr and is expected to be fully complete by 2022.The total length of the access controlled section will be a whooping 13.5km long. It will be fully illuminated and have a speed limit of 100kmph. However this project is facing a lot of issues from local residents as well as the recent ban on Chinese intervention (A chinese firm is a partner of Dilip Buildcon in this project). Hope its done by 2022

[vivek95]

Any pictures of the road construction from the Savitri river, Mahad site ?? Remember the tragic incident that happened in 2016 ?. A new bridge was built in a record time of 1 year. The bridge part is already 4 lane.

[moralfibre]

Originally Posted by vivek95

Any pictures of the road construction from the Savitri river, Mahad site ?? Remember the tragic incident that happened in 2016 ?. A new bridge was built in a record time of 1 year. The bridge part is already 4 lane.

CM
@Dev_Fadnavis
and Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways
@nitin_gadkari
inaugurated the bridge on River Savitri near Mahad today

Link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deMPnIdR9Y8

[NiInJa]

Just wanted to add one more point. The stretch from Pune's Chandani Chowk till Tamhini Ghat is getting widened and converted to concrete for some parts. This means that People heading to Goa from Pune can actually take this route of Tamhini and hit the old Mumbai-Goa highway instead of going all the way down on NH4 and reach Sawantwadi via Amboli ghat.
As mentioned by Dr. Vivek95 and also from the photos/videos uploaded, this is going to be one heck of a road once completed. Extremely scenic after monsoon. The work of Sindhudurg Airport (Chipi Airport) too was going on pretty fast when I visited Malvan right before lockdown. It has a beautiful table top run-way which is visible from quite a distance. If I am not mistaken, the distance between North Goa and this airport is under 100 km.

[maddy42]

Thanks Moralfiber for these threads! Shows the importance roads make in us bhpians life.

The konkan really needs these projects to prevent mass migration to the current urban centers. High time indian highways was bigger than the two lane with a dotted white line in the center.

Maddy