Mumbai, July 4 -- Fourteen years after work began on the Rs.16,000-crore Mumbai-Goa National Highway, commuters are still grappling with dangerous roads, diversions, potholes and waterlogging across the 440-km route. The project to convert the old two-lane Mumbai-Goa highway into a four-lane road was launched in 2011, with the objective of reducing the travel time from nearly 12 hours to six hours. But regular commuters on the route told HT that they were forced to drive on service roads as several stretches remained incomplete or had already developed defects. People living along the highway said they lived in fear of landslides and debris inundating their fields, especially during the monsoons. In May this year, the state government approved collection of toll from motorists using the highway, and collection started at Kharpada, but was halted after opposition from local residents and political leaders. Engineer and road safety activist Chaitanya Patil, who walked for 29 days along the highway in 2025 to document its condition, said it was surprising that potholes were appearing on a newly constructed reinforced cement concrete road. "This road was built with CSR (corporate social responsibility) funding under the technical guidance of the Central Road Research Institute, so people expected high quality. If a new road keeps developing potholes, serious questions must be asked about the quality of construction," Patil said. The poor condition of the highway was putting everyone at risk, including critical patients in ambulances. "Just imagine, a critically ill patient travelling in an ambulance going through these potholes. Even after spending 29 days on the road, documenting problems and submitting reports to public representatives, nobody seems serious about taking action," he said. The first 84-km stretch of the highway, from Panvel to Indapur, remains one of the worst affected sections. Motorists said large potholes had appeared near Jindal Gate at Dolvi in Raigad district, making it difficult even for small vehicles to pass safely. Further on the highway, near Parshuram Ghat in Chiplun, the first spell of heavy rain has washed away the soil beneath a newly constructed retaining wall, raising fears of the structure weakening further and collapsing. "We are living in fear because another spell of heavy rain could lead to collapse of the highway and send mud into our farms again," said Nishikant Mali, deputy sarpanch of Pedhe village. "Last year too, our farms were covered with mud after part of the highway collapsed." Two years ago, while excavation work was underway for the highway, a major landslide buried three houses, damaged a well, and filled a canal with silt, Mali said. "We have repeatedly requested the authorities to protect our village, but to no avail," he noted. In Sangameshwar, commuters are facing another problem. JD Paradkar, an activist from the area, said rainwater mixed with mud was flowing into the service road near the Sonvi Bridge, and onward into the State Transport bus depot because proper drainage was not provided during construction of the highway."Pedestrians, especially elderly people, women and school children, are finding it difficult to walk through the mud," he said. Chiplun-based businessman Deepak (Bapu) Kane too said highway construction work around Chiplun was still ongoing, but drainage remained a major concern. "There is still no proper drainage system along many parts of the highway. Whenever there is heavy rain, nearly half a foot of water collects on the road. Waterlogging has become a regular problem and it must be solved," he said. Ravindra Ingole, Project Director of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), said the authority has already started repairing damaged stretches of the highway. "We carried out an experimental road section using CSR funds from JSW by using stainless steel technology in both bitumen and concrete as per NHAI guidelines. Some cracks developed in the concrete section, while the bitumen section performed well. We have already rectified the damaged portion," he said....