NEW DELHI: Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), Nitin Gadkari, inspected the ongoing work on the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra (DAK) Greenfield Expressway and the Amritsar Bypass projects in Punjab on Thursday.
Once the expressway is completed, the travel time between the national capital and Amritsar will be reduced to just four hours, and one could reach Katra from Delhi in six hours. A major feature of this corridor is the cable-hung bridge over the Beas River, which will be Asia’s longest, at 1,300 metres.
Interestingly, the National Highways Authority of India had recently moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court as it faced difficulties in acquiring possession of the land for this prestigious project. “The 669-kilometre long greenfield expressway is being built at a cost of Rs 40,000 crore. Currently, the distance from Delhi to Katra is 727 kilometres, and with the construction of this route, the distance will be reduced by 58 kilometres,” Gadkari posted on X.
Punjab Public Works Department Minister Harbhajan Singh and Amritsar MP Gurjit Singh Aujla were also present during the inspection. The corridor, which starts from Kundli-Manesar-Palwal in Delhi, has a 137-kilometre portion under the jurisdiction of Haryana. In Punjab, is is 399 kilometres long. Work on the 296-kilometre stretch has begun in Punjab. This expressway will pass through industrial areas like Patiala, Sangrur, Malerkotla, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Kapurthala and Gurudaspur.
One of the standout features of this corridor is Asia’s longest cable bridge, stretching an impressive 1,300 metres over the Beas River. Furthermore, this expressway will establish connections to the significant religious sites cherished by the Sikh community, encompassing the revered Golden Temple, the Sultanpur Lodhi Gurdwara situated in Kapurthala district, the Goindwal Sahib Gurdwara, the Khandur Sahib Gurdwara, the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Taran Taran, and extending all the way to Mata Darbar Vaishno Devi in Katra.
Meanwhile, construction on the 50-kilometre, four-lane Amritsar bypass is currently underway, with an estimated cost of Rs 1,475 crore. This development will significantly enhance connectivity between Taran Taran and Amritsar Airport.
