The heartbeat of India’s economy depends on roads as they act like arteries for boosting the growth story of the country. Uttar Pradesh has witnessed unprecedented work for developing roads and expressways. The state has undergone infrastructural development over the years with the help of investment from the ruling establishments at the Centre and state. With the political adage “double engine governments” defining the development in the state, roads and expressways have caught much attention of authorities concerned for investments that have scripted a rosy picture for Uttar Pradesh.
Here are eight major infrastructure projects that will consolidate the positioning of Uttar Pradesh on the national arena.
Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway
The work will start on the Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway project this year. The estimated cost of the project is pegged at Rs 4, 000 crore. The Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway, 62-km long to be expanded for eight lanes, will start from Amar Shaheed Path, south Lucknow, and terminate at Azad Marg Chauraha near Kanpur’s Ganga Bridge. The carriageway will run parallel to NH-27, connecting Kanpur and Lucknow. The deadline for completion of Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway project is December 2025. According to media reports, the concessionaire will be under obligation to maintain the project for 17.5 years.
Kanpur Outer Ring Road
The Kanpur Outer Ring Road project will kick-start this year. The construction work will take place between Sachendi and Mandhana. The 23.32-km-long Sachendi–Mandhana stretch will be built in the engineering, procurement and construction mode. The project will be connected to the major highways. The greenfield highway touches three districts of Uttar Pradersh: Kanpur Nagar, Unnao and Kanpur Dehat.
Ganga Expressway
The Ganga Expressway project, starting from NH-334 near Meerut and terminating at NH-19 in Prayagraj, will perk up the construction pace in 2023. As per the report, IRB Infrastructure Developers and Adani Enterprises Limited had surfaced preferred bidders for the working on the projects In November 2022. The Adani Group is reported to be building a 464 km stretch between Budaun in the western part of the state to Prayagraj in the eastern part, while IRB Infrastructure Developers Limited will work on the 129.7 km stretch from Meerut to Badaun.
Connecting the north eastern and south western parts of UP, Ganga Expressway will be criss-crossing 12 districts: Meerut, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Amroha, Sambhal, Badaun, Shahjahanpur, Hardoi, Unnao, Rae Bareilly, Pratapgarh and Prayagraj.
Varanasi Kolkata Expressway
Varanasi-Ranchi-Kolkata greenfield expressway, 610-km-long six-lane, could witness construction work soon, which has been planned under the second phase of Bharatmala Pariyojana. Varanasi Kolkata Expressway will start from Varanasi Ring Road, at the junction of NH 19, and will be traversing through Bihar and Jharkhand, and it will terminate at NH 16 near Uluberia in Howrah district of West Bengal.
Gorakhpur-Siliguri Expressway
The work on the Gorakhpur-Siliguri Expressway Project, which is 519 km long connecting Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh with Siliguri in West Bengal, will begin this year. Nearly 84 kilometers of the expressway will pass through Gorakhpur, Deoria and Kushinagar districts of UP before entering Bihar.
