Smooth world-class expressways in India! Over the next few years, several big infrastructure projects are coming up including various Expressway projects. Nitin Gadkari chaired Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is all set to launch many expressway projects in order to enhance connectivity, giving a boost to infra sector of the country. Several state-level projects are also being planned to provide smooth road access between various cities. Last year, the ministry launched the much-awaited Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE) and Western Peripheral Expressway (WPE). In addition to these National Highway projects, phase 1 of Delhi-Meerut Expressway was also launched. These highways have not only helped in decongestion but also to reduce the pollution level. Take a look at the top 5 upcoming Expressway projects:
Purvanchal Expressway: The foundation stone for Purvanchal Expressway, was laid last year in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh. The highway project will originate from Chand Sarai of Lucknow district and will end at Haidaria of Ghazipur district. Also, it will be connected with Varanasi through a separate link road. With the establishment of this highway, the ministry aims to provide seamless connectivity to nine districts of Uttar Pradesh namely, Lucknow, Amethi, Faizabad, Ghazipur, Barabanki, Mau, Azamgarh, Ambedkarnagar and Sultanpur. Also, it will connect them to Delhi via Agra-Greater Noida Yamuna Expressway and Agra-Lucknow Expressway.
Ganga Expressway: The longest expressway of the country, Ganga Expressway is likely to be 1,020 km long. The highway project, which will be developed in two phases will see 596 km long stretch from Meerut to Prayagraj in phase one. Under phase two of the expressway, 110 km long road stretch will be developed from Tigri to Uttar Pradesh-Uttarakhand border and another road stretch of 314 km will be developed from Prayag Raj to Ballia. The phase one will cover 12 districts namely, are Meerut, Hapur, Sambhal, Jyotibha Phule Nagar, Budaun, Shahjahanpur, Hardoi, Unnao, Farrukhabad, Rae Bareli, Pratapgarh and Prayagraj. It will include four lanes (expandable to six lanes green field), right of way 110 metres with a design speed of 120 kmph. Also, as many as 8 road over bridges as well as 18 flyovers will be constructed.
Delhi-Mumbai Expressway: With an aim to reduce the travel time between Delhi and Mumbai to 12 hours, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is developing the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway project. An eight-lane project, the highway will be access controlled and will provide good riding quality, reliable infrastructure and better safety, decongesting the existing national and state highways. The project will include four multilevel interchanges along with elevated ramps or service roads. The highway will also provide direct connectivity to Delhi Airport’s T3 via 5 km long shallow tunnel. Also, The Expressway will boast cross road underpasses at crucial junctions as well as intelligent transportation system (ITS).
Mumbai-Nagpur Super Communication Expressway: The Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg project, called Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway will be around 700 km long. With a speed limit of 150 km, the travel time between Mumbai and Nagpur is likely to be reduced to 8 hours. The projects will connect multiple industrial areas including Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Mahamarg, Western Dedicated Freight Mahamarg, dry ports of Wardha and Jalna as well as Mumbai’s JNPT. The expressway will have 8 lanes, 4 lanes on each side. Also, a provision has been made in the center of the highway, in case there is a requirement to increase lanes on either side. Also, there will be service roads on both sides. The project also includes 50+ flyovers, 24+ interchanges, 400+ vehicular underpasses, 300+ pedestrian underpasses and more than 5 tunnels.
Bangalore-Chennai Expressway: Earlier this year, Nitin Gadkari announced that the land acquisition for the upcoming Bangalore-Chennai Expressway has been completed. The highway project will be 290 km long access controlled Expressway. The highway project will be operated with a closed toll system. Currently, two roads exist, connecting Bangalore-Chennai, one road is via Hoskote in Bangalore-AP then to Chennai and the second road is via Electronic City in Bangalore, Hosur in Tamil Nadu and then to Chennai. According to the ministry, the alignment of Bangalore-Chennai Expressway will pass from between these two stretches.
