NEW DELHI: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Saturday informed Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways, Harsh Malhotra, that the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway would be ready within three months.
Malhotra inspected the entire 210-km stretch of the expressway along with officials from the Authority. The minister took cognisance of the various bottlenecks reported by NHAI officials and directed them to expedite the work and complete the project within the stipulated time frame so that it could be opened to the general public as scheduled.
After the inspection, the minister stated that the expressway would be instrumental in decongesting the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi and also reduce the load on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway and other connecting highways.
The 210-kilometre-long access-controlled expressway, with an operational speed limit of 100 kmph, will connect the national capital with Uttarakhand’s capital, Dehradun.
It starts from Akshardham Temple in Delhi and passes through several districts of Uttar Pradesh, such as Baghpat, Baraut, Muzaffarnagar, Shamli and Saharanpur, before culminating at Dehradun.
The project was expected to be completed within the deadline of March 2024. It was approved in 2020, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation of the expressway in December last year.
The expressway is being developed at an approximate cost of ₹12,000 crore and will reduce the travel time from Delhi to Dehradun from the existing 6.5 hours to 2.5 hours.
The expressway will also have a spur towards Haridwar and connect to the Char Dham Highway, thereby enhancing connectivity to the hill stations and pilgrimage sites of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.
The final 20-kilometre stretch passes through the eco-sensitive zone of Rajaji National Park, where Asia’s longest elevated wildlife corridor (12 kilometres) is being constructed. This includes the 340-metre Daat Kali tunnel.