The single most-asked question about National Expressway 4 (NE-4), the Delhi–Mumbai Expressway, isn't about tolls or interchanges — it's simply: when will the whole thing actually be done? The honest answer is that it depends on which stretch you mean, because NE-4 isn't opening as one event. It's opening in more than 50 pieces, and has been since February 2023.
The Short Answer
As of August 2026, NHAI's own targets are:
| Milestone | Target | |---|---| | Delhi–Vadodara stretch (845 km) fully operational | December 2026 | | Full 1,386 km corridor (Delhi to Mumbai/JNPT) | 2027–28 |
Both dates have already moved once. The original plan called for the entire expressway to be finished years earlier — construction on the first packages began in 2019, with an initial full-corridor target of 2023. Monsoon damage, land acquisition disputes (particularly in Maharashtra's coastal districts), and the sheer scale of building 1,386 km across six states have each pushed the timeline back in stages.
What's Already Open (as of August 2026)
Rather than one grand opening, NE-4 has been coming online section by section:
- February 2023 — Sohna–Dausa–Lalsot (246 km), inaugurated by PM Modi
- September 2023 — the entire 244 km Madhya Pradesh section
- February 2024 — Vadodara–Bharuch (Gujarat)
- November 2024 — a 24 km Delhi stretch (Mithapur–Ballabhgarh)
- December 2024 — the 80 km Kota–Laban section in Rajasthan
- January 2026 — Bharuch–Kharel (Gujarat)
- April 2026 — Vadodara–Godhra (Gujarat)
- June 2026 — a 63.5 km Kim–Enna section (Gujarat)
- August 2026 — a 9 km DND Flyway–Jaitpur stretch, opened on a trial basis ahead of formal commissioning
That last one is worth pausing on, because it illustrates why "completion date" is slippery. NHAI runs new sections through a trial period — open to traffic, but without toll collection — specifically so remaining defects can surface and get fixed before the section is formally signed off. A stretch can be drivable for weeks or months before NHAI calls it "complete" in the strict sense.
What's Still Under Construction
The Maharashtra sections — particularly the Virar–JNPT stretch that arcs around Mumbai to reach the port — remain the biggest open item, which is why the full-corridor date sits a full year or more behind the Delhi–Vadodara target. Land acquisition along Maharashtra's coast has historically been the slowest-moving piece of this project, and it's the main reason the 2027–28 window exists as a range rather than a single year.
Within Gujarat and Rajasthan, most remaining work is incremental — closing gaps between already-open stretches — rather than starting from scratch. See the Construction Status page for the live package-by-package breakdown, including which contractor is building each stretch and their reported completion percentage.
Why the Date Keeps Moving
A few structural reasons this project's timeline has proven hard to pin down:
- It's not one project. NE-4 is built as 50+ separately contracted packages. A delay on any single package doesn't necessarily delay the whole corridor, but the last package to finish sets the effective completion date for that section — and with 50+ moving parts, something is usually running behind.
- Monsoon season. Large stretches of Rajasthan and Gujarat see construction slow or pause during monsoon months, and monsoon rain has also been directly responsible for surface damage on newly-built sections — see our coverage of NHAI's disciplinary action over quality defects for specifics.
- Trial-to-commissioning lag. As noted above, "open to traffic" and "formally complete" are different milestones, and the gap between them varies by section.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Delhi–Mumbai Expressway open right now? Partially. As of August 2026, the majority of the Delhi–Vadodara stretch is operational, along with several Gujarat sections. The Maharashtra sections are still under construction. Check the Construction Status page for the current package-by-package picture.
What's the realistic completion date for the whole expressway? NHAI's stated target for the full 1,386 km corridor is 2027–28, with the Delhi–Vadodara portion targeted for December 2026. Given the project's history of revised timelines, treat both as directional rather than fixed.
Why do some sections open without toll collection? NHAI runs new sections through a trial period after construction and safety audits but before formal commissioning, so any remaining defects can be caught and fixed. Toll collection typically begins once a section is formally commissioned.
For section-level detail, see Construction Status and Route Details. For the latest news on quality and safety issues affecting specific stretches, see our blog.