Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday inspected the 212 kilometres 6-lane Delhi-Dehradun Greenfield Access Controlled Expressway and said that its construction work will be completed by December this year. The Expressway is being built at a cost of Rs 12,000 crore. Gadkari, who spoke to the media post inspection, said the Expressway will reduce the travel time between two cities from over five hours to 2-2.5 hours.
According to an HT report, Gadkari stated that the road has been elevated for about 18 kilometres as it passes through populated areas in the first phase, which runs from Akshardham to the Eastern Peripheral Expressway crossing and is 31.6 kilometres long. “The Expressway will give a major boost to the economic development along the Delhi-Dehradun-Saharanpur corridor and will boost tourism activities in Uttarakhand,” the report quoted Gadkari as saying.
Here’s all you need to know about Delhi-Dehradun Expressway
- The Delhi-Dehradun Expressway, also known as NH 72A, has been divided into four sections
- It is being constructed starting from Delhi-Mumbai Expressway (DME) near Akshardham in Delhi, Shastri Park, Khajuri Khas, EPE interchange at Khekra in Mandola, Baghpat, Shamli, Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh to Dehradun in Uttarakhand
- Special provisions have been made in the construction of the entire corridor and in these, the route from Ganeshpur to Dehradun has been kept safe for wildlife
- There is a provision of a 12 km elevated road, 6 animal underpasses, 2 elephant underpasses, 2 major bridges and 13 minor bridges
- For the convenience of passengers, there is a provision of 12 way-side amenities on the Expressway
- For connectivity of Haridwar with this highway, a 51 km six-lane Greenfield road is also being constructed at a cost of Rs 2,095 crore
(With agency inputs)