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The Centre has cleared an INR 1,880.11 crore project to widen the Cuncolim-Bendordem stretch of NH-66 in South Goa, strengthening a key highway corridor connecting Goa with Karnataka and Maharashtra. The project includes four-laning works, a 5.78-km elevated corridor, bypasses at Cuncolim and Balli, a six-lane railway overbridge, upgraded junctions and pedestrian infrastructure. The development is aimed at reducing congestion, improving travel time and supporting rising traffic movement across South Goa. The approval also adds to ongoing highway expansion works being undertaken on different sections of NH-66 along India’s western coastal corridor.
The Centre has approved an INR 1,880.11 crore highway expansion project for the Cuncolim-Bendordem section of National Highway-66 in South Goa, giving a major push to road connectivity and traffic infrastructure in the state. Advertisement
The project includes four-laning of the existing highway stretch along with the construction of a 5.78-km six-lane elevated corridor, bypasses at Cuncolim and Balli, a six-lane railway overbridge, service roads, pedestrian facilities and upgraded junction infrastructure.
The Cuncolim-Bendordem stretch forms an important part of NH-66, one of India’s key coastal highway corridors connecting Mumbai and Kanyakumari. The route handles significant passenger and freight traffic movement and is widely used for tourism, inter-state transport and local commuting across South Goa.
With traffic volume increasing steadily over the past few years, congestion has become a major issue across several towns on the existing corridor, particularly near urban pockets and railway crossings. The proposed elevated section and bypasses are expected to reduce bottlenecks and improve travel time for vehicles moving towards Canacona, Margao and nearby border regions.
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said the project approval would help improve road infrastructure and daily commuting in South Goa. He also acknowledged the support extended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari for the clearance of the proposal.
The highway expansion project will also use Automated and Intelligent Machine-Aided Construction technology during execution. Officials expect the upgraded corridor to improve road safety standards, ease pressure on existing town roads and streamline traffic flow across the region.
The project is also expected to improve connectivity for nearby villages including Bendordem, Cordem and Barcem, while strengthening movement between Goa and neighbouring states such as Karnataka and Maharashtra.
The approval comes as multiple NH-66 widening and bypass projects continue across Goa and other western coastal states. In recent years, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has accelerated upgrades on key NH-66 stretches to improve logistics efficiency, tourism access and long-distance highway connectivity. Earlier proposals linked to the Bendordem-Polem section had also been taken up as part of the broader corridor development plan for South Goa.
Apart from improving transport movement, the upgraded highway corridor is expected to support commercial activity, regional mobility and future infrastructure growth in the southern part of the state, where traffic demand has continued to rise due to tourism and urban expansion.
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