PM to inaugurate two expressways in the Delhi NCR Region
26 May 2018
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate two newly-built expressways in the Delhi NCR Region on Sunday.
The first of these is the 14-lane, access controlled, package - I of the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, stretching from Nizammudin Bridge to the Delhi-UP border.
This 8.360-km stretch of the national highway has been completed in 18 months, ahead of the expected 30-month construction period, at a cost of around Rs841.50 crore.
It includes a 6-lane expressway and 4+4 service lanes, making it a 14-lane facility from Nizamuddin Bridge in Delhi to UP border. This is the first National Highway in the country with 14 lanes, and has several features that would help reduce pollution.
These include a 2.5-metre-wide cycle track on either side of the highway, a vertical garden on the Yamuna Bridge, solar lighting system and watering of plants through drip irrigation only. The foundation stone for the project was laid down by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on 31.12.2015.
The Delhi- Meerut Expressway project aims to provide faster and safer connectivity between Delhi and Meerut and beyond this, with Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The total length of the project is 82km, of which the first 27.74 km will be 14-laned, while the rest will be 6-lane expressway. The project is likely to cost Rs 4975.17 crore.
This will be the first expressway to have dedicated bicycle tracks on the nearly 28km stretch between Delhi and Dasna. The project involves construction of 11 flyovers / interchanges, five major and 24 minor bridges, 3 rail over bridges, 36 vehicular and 14 pedestrian underpasses. It will also have elevated section of 5.91 kms.
Once the entire project is complete, it will take just 60 minutes to travel from Delhi to Meerut.
The second project to be inaugurated on Sunday is the 135km long Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE) , stretching from Kundli on NH 1 to Palwal on NH 2, for which the prime minister had laid the foundation on 5 November 2015.
The peripheral expressways around Delhi, comprising Western Peripheral Expressway (WPE) and Eastern Peripheral Expressway, connecting national highway-1 and national highway-2 from the Western and Eastern side of Delhi, has been envisaged with the twin objectives of decongesting and de-polluting the national capital by diverting the traffic not destined for Delhi.
The alignment of EPE starts near Kundli NH-1, traverses to cross river Yamuna , crosses state highway-57 at Mawikalan, national highway-58 near Duhai, national highway-24 near Dasna, national highway-91 near Beel Akbarpur, Kasna-Sikandra road near Sirsa, river Yamuna again at Faizupur Khadar village in Haryana, Atali-Chainsa Road, near Maujpur village and ends at Palwal on national highway-2 to join Western peripheral expressway.
One thousand and seven hundred hectares of land has been acquired for the EPE at a cost of about Rs5,900 crore. The construction cost of the project is about Rs4617.87 crore.
The expressway has been completed in 500 days against the scheduled target of 910 days. It is a fully access-controlled six-lane expressway. Entry and exit on the expressway is through designated interchanges only. The expressway has four major bridges, 46 minor bridges, three flyovers, seven inter-changes, 221 underpasses, 8 rail overbridges, and 114 culverts.
This project has generated employment opportunities of about 50 lakh man-days..
The EPE has a closed tolling system in which toll will be collected only for the distance travelled and not for the entire length. Toll plazas will be equipped with Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) system for faster toll collection and uninterrupted travel experience.
Weigh-in-motion (WIMs) equipment has been installed at all 30 entry points of the expressway to stop entry of over-loaded vehicles.
EPE has an iconic 170 feet high toll plaza, with 154 feet wings on either side. It will house the ITS control system of the entire EPE. Under the toll plaza there is a digital art gallery with holographic models of major structures and making of the EPE.
This is the first expressway in the country to use solar power on the entire length of 135 km. There are eight solar power plants on this expressway, with a capacity of 4,000 KW (4 megawatt) for lighting of the underpasses and running solar pumps for watering plants.
Rainwater harvesting has been provided at every 500 meters on the EPE and there is drip irrigation for plants all along the expressway. There are also 36 replicas of monuments depicting Indian culture and heritage.
