Traffic restrictions speed work, but monsoon risks & road closure concerns remain
STEADY PROGRESS: Segment launching on the Sangolda stretch of the elevated corridor is progressing steadily, with the contractor claiming that 61 per cent of the superstructure has already been completed.
MAPUSA
While Public Works Department (National Highways) officials maintain that traffic restrictions have accelerated work on the six-lane, 5.15-km elevated corridor on NH-66, the project contractor has cautioned that completion of the superstructure may spill into the monsoon and beyond.
Even as the government targets a December 2026 inauguration, the executing agency says the project could spill over to early 2027 without a full road closure. PWD (NH) officials said the launching of segments – the critical superstructure work – is progressing smoothly and could be completed by May or June, ahead of the monsoon, if the current pace is sustained.
“With the diversion of traffic, the pace of work has improved. If the same momentum continues for the next four months, the superstructure could be ready by the end of May or June,” said Gajanan Desai, Executive Engineer, PWD (NH).
However, RRSM Infra Pvt Ltd, the firm executing the project, has expressed a more guarded outlook. RRSM Infra’s Senior Manager, MCS Kurup, said that continued movement of traffic along the construction stretch is hampering segment launching and could delay the work well into the monsoon season.
“If traffic continues to move along the construction site, the launching of segments could get dragged into September or October,” Kurup said, adding that only a complete closure of the road from Coqueiro to Porvorim towards Mapusa would make timely completion feasible. He also stressed the need for cooperation from local residents. “If there is total closure and cooperation from locals, there is a possibility of completing the work on time,” he said.
Explaining the constraints at the site, Kurup pointed out that the right of way (ROW) along NH-66 is 25 metres, while the width of the elevated corridor itself is nearly 25 metres. “There is no scope to widen the service roads. We have to transport and launch segments within the limited available space. Ongoing traffic movement puts enormous pressure on operations, and we have to take extra precautions to avoid any risk,” he said.
According to the contractor, around 61 per cent of the overall work has been completed so far, with approximately 800 of the total 1,431 segments already launched. Although the official completion deadline for the project is October 2026, RRSM Infra Pvt Ltd has warned that delays could push completion to as late as January 2027.
This contrasts with CM Pramod Sawant’s earlier assurance that the elevated corridor would be inaugurated on December 19, 2026.
The elevated corridor was originally slated for completion by April 2026. The deadline was later extended by six months due to the requirement of deeper pile foundations.
