With machinery idle and no safe work zone, officials predict completion may slip beyond 2026
MAPUSA
Work on the six-lane, 5.15-km elevated corridor on NH-66 has slowed down considerably, with PWD (NH) officials admitting that the government’s failure to approve crucial traffic diversions has emerged as the biggest hurdle affecting progress.
Senior PWD officials directly involved in the project revealed that the department has been unable to implement the planned traffic diversions needed to safely launch segments and raise the superstructure.
With regular traffic continuing to flow along the work zone, construction teams are facing severe safety and operational constraints.
“There is no doubt the work has slowed down. There are safety constraints and no diversions available. The traffic is flowing along the carriageway where the superstructure is being raised,” a senior PWD official told The Goan.
He added that while around 55 per cent of the project has been completed, the pace of work is now significantly behind schedule.
According to the official, the revised target for completion is October 2026, but at the current pace the deadline may be pushed to December 2026 or even early 2027.
“We are lagging behind… We are in talks with the traffic police and the SDM, hoping something can be worked out,” he said.
Officials from the contracting company have echoed the concerns.
A representative had earlier confirmed that work output had dropped by nearly 50 per cent, with machinery and manpower lying idle due to the inability to execute scheduled operations without diversions.
He had also warned that if the bottlenecks persist, completion could slip well into 2027.
This assessment, however, contrasts with Tourism Minister and Porvorim MLA Rohan Khaunte’s recent assertion that the project would be completed by August 2026.
Khaunte has been conducting frequent site inspections and meetings to push for quicker solutions to traffic and safety challenges without resorting to major daytime road closures.
The elevated corridor, a key project to ease chronic congestion between Panaji and Mapusa, had an original completion deadline of April 2026. This was later extended due to the need for deeper pile foundations.
Now, with diversion approvals still pending, officials warn that the latest delay could further stretch an already tight timeline unless immediate decisions are made.
