Big infrastructural boost for commuters! Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways has inaugurated the 22-km long stretch between Dasna to Hapur of the Delhi-Meerut Expressway today. The 82-kilometre long Delhi-Meerut Expressway connects the national capital with Meerut in western Uttar Pradesh. A sum of Rs 8,346 crore is likely to be spent on the Delhi-Meerut expressway project, according to the PTI report.
The third package of the expressway project from Dasna in Ghaziabad to the Hapur area is over 22 km long, with a civil cost of Rs 1,989 crore. This six-lane section has 2+2 lane service roads on either sides, and a 4.68-km long six-lane elevated corridor at Pilkhuwa, which is situated in Hapur.
The Delhi-Meerut expressway project involves the construction of a major bridge across the upper Ganga canal, a flyover at the Hapur bypass, seven new minor bridges, 11 vehicular underpasses, two foot overbridges, two pedestrian underpasses, six major junctions as well as 105 minor junctions. The expressway will help in decongesting the national capital region (NCR) and will bring a significant reduction in the pollution level. It will also bring down the travel time by more than an hour between Delhi and Meerut.
According to the report, the 4.68-km long six-lane elevated corridor at the Pilkhuwa area has been awarded with a Gold Medal for innovation in construction technology. The Pilkhuwa viaduct has also been awarded as outstanding concrete structure of western Uttar Pradesh.
The access-controlled, smart and green Delhi-Meerut Expressway project by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is being implemented in four packages, which are as follows:
- Under Phase-1, a 8.72 km long six-lane expressway or eight-lane NH 24 from the Sarai Kale Khan area in Delhi to Ghazipur border, had already been completed by the month of June 2018
- Under Phase-II, a 19.28 km long six-lane expressway or eight-lane NH 24 from Ghazipur border to Dasna in Uttar Pradesh has been completed by 60 per cent
- Under Phase-III, a 22.23 km long six-lane NH 24 with (2+2) lane service roads on either sides from Dasna to Hapur in Uttar Pradesh, is being inaugurated today
- Under Phase-IV, a 31.78 km long greenfield six-lane expressway from Hapur to Meerut, has been completed by 57 percent
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the 8.72-9 km stretch of Delhi-Meerut Expressway between Nizamuddin Bridge to the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border on May 27, 2018. This stretch was made operational in a record time of 18 months.