NHAI opens 9-km Delhi-Mumbai Expressway stretch from DND to Jaitpur for trial runs

The National Highways Authority of India has opened a 9-km stretch of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway linking the DND Flyway to Jaitpur for trial runs.

Nearly 8.5 km of the 9-km section is elevated, forming one of the final segments connecting central Delhi to the wider expressway network.

The newly opened stretch is expected to ease travel toward Faridabad and provide more direct, uninterrupted access toward Jaipur and Sawai Madhopur.

The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is India’s longest expressway project, designed to significantly cut travel time between the two cities once fully operational.

Trial runs typically precede full public opening, allowing authorities to test traffic flow, signage and safety systems before regular commuter access begins.

The stretch’s opening adds to a series of phased rollouts of the expressway that have taken place over the past two years as different sections near completion.

The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, once fully complete, is expected to reduce travel time between the two cities from roughly 24 hours to around 12 hours.

Sections of the expressway connecting Delhi to Jaipur and other stretches further south have already been opened to the public in earlier phases, with the DND-Jaitpur link filling one of the remaining gaps closer to the capital.

The expressway is being built as a greenfield access-controlled corridor, meaning it largely follows a new alignment rather than widening existing roads, which has allowed for higher design speeds along most of its length.

Once the full DND-to-Jaitpur link is opened to the public, commuters heading toward Faridabad and further south are expected to see reduced congestion at some of the more heavily trafficked junctions in the area.

The expressway passes through six states along its full length, making it one of the largest single infrastructure undertakings by the NHAI in recent years.

During a trial-run phase, motorists are typically expected to follow posted speed limits and signage carefully, since final safety features can still be undergoing fine-tuning on newly opened stretches.

Photo by Biswarup Ganguly, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0