Noida: Farmers ready, e-way interchange work can begin

NOIDA: The construction work to connect the Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE) with the Yamuna Expressway through an interchange is likely to start from next month.
The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) officials said the interchange would come up on 57 hectares. While the land was in YEIDA’s possession, work could not start as farmers protested over 64.7% additional compensation.

The project gained momentum after the Supreme Court upheld the order for enhanced compensation and YEIDA announced that the money would be disbursed soon.
While the two expressways crisscross each other near Jaganpur-Afzalpur village in GB Nagar, they are not connected. So, commuters have to travel around 15km to switch from one expressway to another.
“The additional compensation will be distributed among 300 farmers. They have agreed to let us start the construction,” said Arun Vir Singh, the YEIDA CEO.
In 2019, the authorities planned to directly link the Noida airport with western Uttar Pradesh and Haryana through an interchange that would cost Rs 75.5 crore. The interchange was to be ready in the next one and a half years, but got held up because of the farmers’ protests.
Later, another plan was made to connect the interchange with sector roads. Of the total project cost (Rs 75.5 crore), around Rs 59.6 crore will be borne by NHAI. The authority has decided to bear the remaining expenditure of providing connectivity to the 60m and 30m sector roads running parallel to the Yamuna Expressway in the construction of the interchange.
Officials said the interchange would improve access to the airport as people from Meerut, Moradabad, Faridabad, Palwal and Manesar would be able to reach it seamlessly. The Yamuna Expressway is about 9.5km from Pari Chowk, from where this interchange will be made on the EPE. According to YEIDA, this interchange will have four loops and four ramps.