Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first phase of the 7,500-crore Delhi-Meerut Expressway that will reduce the travel time between the cities considerably, on Sunday. Modi, after inaugurating the 14-lane highway spanning Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi to UP Gate, rode in an open car, waving at crowds gathered on either side of the highway.
Road Transport and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari, too, rode in a separate open car alongside Modi. The roadshow started from Nizamuddin bridge, the start of the about 9-km first leg of the Delhi-Meerut Expressway. After a 6-km travel on the stretch, he flew to Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh to inaugurate the country's first smart and green highway, the Eastern Peripheral Expressway.
The first phase of the Delhi-Meerut Expressway cost 842 crore for building the 9-km stretch of 14-lane highway, according to an advertisement released by the government on the project.
The Delhi-Meerut Expressway, which will have dedicated bicycle tracks on the nearly 28-km stretch between Delhi and Dasna, will cut travel time between Delhi and Meerut to 45 minutes from two-and-half hours now. The total length of the project is 82 km, of which the first 27.74 km will be 14-laned, while the rest will be a 6-lane expressway.
The expressway will do away with 31 traffic signals on the Delhi-Meerut road, the busiest highway in the region, and make it signal-free. The state-of-the-art road will have auto challans for over-speeding as cameras will capture speed of vehicles. It will also have provisions of tolling only for the distance travelled. The expressway has an iconic toll plaza at the entry point on the Kundli side besides digital art gallery.
Modi had in December 2015 laid the foundation stone of the Delhi-Meerut Expressway to be built at a cost of 7,566 crore. The project is being built in four segments — Nizamuddin Bridge to UP Border, UP Border to Dasna, Dasna to Hapur and Hapur to Meerut. Besides, the six-lanes of 22-km long Dasna-Hapur section of NH 24 will cost 1,122 crore.
The Eastern and the Western Peripheral Expressways were planned in 2006 following the apex court's order to build a ring road outside the national Capital for channelling the traffic not bound for Delhi.
ECO-WAY
- The project was completed in a record 500 days.
- There are eight solar power plants on this expressway having a capacity of 4,000-kilowatt.
- Around 2.5 lakh trees have been planted near it, including transplant of 8-10-year-old trees. It also has drip irrigation provision.
