Delhi-Mumbai Expressway: All you need to know

With an intention of linking two economic hubs of the country, the government of India planned the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, a 1,250-km controlled access highway, which would cut down the travel time between the two cities from 24 hours to 12 hours. The foundation stone for the project was laid in March 2019 and the expressway is scheduled for inauguration on January 26, 2023. The eight-lane expressway will pass through five states and several greenfield sites, which will be developed into warehousing hubs.

Delhi-Mumbai Expressway route

To be built at an expense of Rs 1 lakh crore, the expressway will pass through Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

The expressway will run parallel to the Delhi-Alwar route in Haryana and will exit the state at Kolgaon. In Rajasthan, the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will pass through Bharatpur, Malakhera, Rajgarh, Jaipur, Sawai Madhopur, Indragarh, Kota and Rawatbhata. In Madhya Pradesh, the highway will cross Bhanpura, Garoth, Neemuch, Mandsaur, Jaora, Ratlam and Thandla. In Maharashtra, the expressway will pass through Thane and Palghar to end at Mumbai.

Also read the latest developments on the Delhi Dehradun Expressway.

Delhi-Mumbai Expressway: Sustainable infrastructure

The upcoming expressway, which will also be the longest greenfield expressway, will have India’s first animal bridges or animal overpasses. These will be designed to keep the wildlife section unaffected from the new infrastructure. There will be around five such animal overpasses, with a combined length of around 2.5 kms, passing through Ranthambore wildlife corridor and Mukundra wildlife sanctuaries in Rajasthan.

Delhi-Mumbai Expressway: Timeline

January 2019: Land acquisition for Haryana stretch completed. Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh yet to acquire land.

March 2019: Foundation stone laid by union minister Nitin Gadkari. 148 kms of work awarded and rest of the contract to be awarded over six months.

September 2019: Civil work begins. Deadline for the project set to 2020.

February 2020: Deadline postponed to January 26, 2023.

June 2020: Detailed project report (DPR) yet to be prepared for the last 33-km stretch. Around 497 kms are under-construction while the contract is yet to be awarded for 162 kms.

February 2021: During the Union Budget 2021 presentation, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the contract works for the remaining 260 kms would be awarded before March 2021.

September 11, 2021: Sohna-Jaipur section to become operational.

See also: PM lays foundation stone for Bundelkhand Expressway

Delhi-Mumbai Expressway: Latest updates

April 22, 2021: Very soon, Delhi-Jaipur will have a new connectivity link via the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway as the construction on this section is expected to be completed by the end of 2021. The route will also relieve congestion from the existing road, National Highway-8. Around five flyovers and one cloverleaf is under construction currently on this route, which will allow the travellers to enter and exit the greenfield expressway at ease. Several wayside amenities are being planned on this stretch, which will pass through Nuh, Nagina, Ferozepur Jhirka.

March 5, 2021: As per media reports, to boost connectivity to the Jewar International Airport in Noida, a 31-km-long link road will be built that would connect the airport with the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, via Ballabhgarh in Haryana. Both state governments have reached an agreement to construct this link road, which would reduce the travel time between Noida Airport and Delhi Airport by one hour. The National Highways Authority of India is already constructing a 92-km link road, to connect the Expressway with Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi.

Earlier, union minister of road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari, on January 27, 2020, said that the upcoming Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will act as a growth engine for the areas through which it passes. Addressing an event at Manesar in Haryana’s Gurgaon district, he also said the expressway would cut the travel time between Delhi and Mumbai by almost half.

The highway will act as a growth engine for the areas through which it passes, as logistics parks and smart cities will also be developed. The project will be completed during the tenure of the present government, he was quoted as saying in a Haryana government release. Gadkari, along with his deputy in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Gen VK Singh (retd), reviewed all national highway development projects at a two-day meeting held in Manesar on January 23 and 24, 2020.

Flyover repair work on Hero Honda roundabout in Gurgaon would be completed by February 15, Gadkari said and exuded confidence that it would not require any more repairs for the next five years. He also informed the gathering that the work going on at some stretches of the Delhi-Chandigarh highway will be completed in about one-and-a-half years. Gadkari said 730 projects across the country have been reviewed in a meeting.

(With inputs from PTI) 

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