Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated Uttar Pradesh's sixth expressway between Chitrakoot and Etawah, a project that was started in 2020 and has now been finished. The state of Bundelkhand would benefit from a four-lane expressway constructed at a cost of Rs 14,850 crore, which will improve transportation services in the state.
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In addition, a six-lane expressway may be built farther along the road. However, it should be emphasised that this expressway was built by Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industry Development Authority (UPEIDA). The expressway will pass through seven districts, including Banda, Mahoba, Hamirpur, Jalaun, and Auraiya, in addition to Chitrakoot and Etawah.
Regions that it serves
An extension of the Agra-Lucknow expressway joins the Chitrakoot-Kudrail expressway at the Etawah district hamlet of Kudrail on the route. All of Chitrakoot's seven districts are included in this area. Bagen, Ken, Shyama, Chandawal, Birma, Yamuna, Betwa, and Sengar are just a few of the rivers that the route crosses.
The cost of the project
Officials anticipate the total cost of the project to be more than Rs 15,000 crore. Yogi Adityanath's government, on the other hand, has saved around Rs 1,132 crore by opting for electronic tendering.
Enhancing regional connections
The Bundelkhand expressway is a key connection in the state's efforts to improve connectivity. Estimates suggest that a trip from Delhi to Chitrakoot, which had previously taken 9-10 hours, may now be completed in roughly 6 hours thanks to the four-lane motorway. This highway is also critical to the development of Uttar Pradesh's planned defence corridor.
The building of an industrial corridor has also begun in Banda and Jalaun districts. The Rs 20,000 crore defence corridor project covers more than 5,071 hectares in the western, central, and Bundelkhand regions of the state.
Six of the state's 13 expressways, totalling 3,200 kilometres, are already operational, while seven more are under development. Industrial developments are sprouting up along major highways and expressways. In the event of a crisis, the air force is creating airstrips that may be used in place of runways.
