Noida airport coming up, Yamuna e-way set to be widened to 8 lanes

NOIDA: The 165km-long Yamuna Expressway will be expanded to eight lanes from the existing six.
The government agency in charge of it - Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) - has asked the concessionaire, Jaypee Infratech, to add a lane each on the sides of the two carriageways to handle the increase in traffic that is expected in a little over a year with the launch of the Noida international airport.

Once the airport becomes operational, the expressway will be its main access road not only from Delhi and Noida, but also from west UP on the other side. The road will assume importance all the more because Delhi-NCR's second international airport will cater mainly to the west UP districts and the contiguous parts of Haryana.
According to the concession agreement for the airport project, the expressway is supposed to be expanded to eight lanes once the daily traffic reaches 32,000.
"As of now, the number of vehicles using the expressway is between 30,000 and 32,000 daily. The concession agreement provides for eight lanes once the volume of vehicles reaches 32,000. We have asked the company managing the expressway to prepare a detailed project report and start on the expansion accordingly. We hope the DPR will be ready in 15 days," said Arun Vir Singh, the YEIDA CEO.
Both carriageways have the provision for expansion on either side, but these are unpaved at the moment. Officials said the height of the guardrails was about 2.5-3ft and was in keeping with the standard specifications. "So, there is no need to change their height as of now," an official said.
Col Sandeep Sharma (retired), who heads the Yamuna Expressway's operations for Jaypee, said he was not yet aware of the expansion plan.
"I am not privy to any such information related to the expansion. In case, such an order has been issued by the YEIDA CEO, it would first be discussed at our headquarters and then relayed to us. Once that is done, we will prepare the DPR and float a tender for the construction to start," he told TOI.
Officials said they were implementing the measures suggested by IIT-Delhi last year to make the expressway safer. After a spate of accidents, the IIT had been asked to conduct an audit of the speedway and suggest measures to reduce the number of crashes, especially in winter when fog cuts down visibility to only a few metres.
One of the major changes implemented so far is the replacement of barbed wires on the median of the main carriageway with thrie beams. These beams not only act as shock absorbers but also prevent vehicles from rolling on to the other side.
Of late, the expressway has assumed notoriety for accidents and experts have raised questions regarding the safety measures and road design. In 2021, the speedway witnessed 424 accidents, which claimed 136 lives. There were 318 accidents on the expressway last year and 106 deaths.
Developed by the Jaypee group, the Yamuna Expressway was built under the public-private partnership model. A concession agreement was signed in February 2003 between the erstwhile Taj Expressway Authority (now YEIDA) and Jaiprakash Industries Limited (now Jaypee Infratech) for a period of 36 years.
The expressway was inaugurated on August 9, 2012, by the then chief minister, Akhilesh Yadav. The speedway was built for about Rs 13,000 crore.