Love driving on highways? Five new expressways expected to open in 2024

India will see its highway network expand further in 2024 with as many as five new expressways scheduled to open for traffic in the next 12 months. The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has already listed out the number of new expressways to be completed by next year while Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has assured at least a few of them to operational very soon. By summer of 2024, around the time when Lok Sabha elections are scheduled to take place, some of the key expressways will be open for commuters. Here is a list of the upcoming expressways expected to be ready by 2024.

Delhi-Mumbai Expressway

Delhi–Mumbai Expressway, the much awaited longest expressway in India connecting the national capital and business capital of the country, is all set to be completed by next year. According to Gadkari, the expressway should be fully ready and operational by February next year. Currently, the first stretch of the expressway between Sohna in Haryana and Dausa in Rajasthan, which is around 209 kms long, is open. With an overall distance of 1,386 kms, the expressway will pass through five states including Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra. Delhi has the shortest stretch of nine kms, while most part of the expressway will be in Gujarat with 423-km share. The expressway, which will reduce the distance between Delhi and Mumbai by 180 kms, will take only 12 hours instead of 24 hours taken previously.

Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway

Before the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway becomes fully operational, another key link between two major cities in India are going to be connected through a new expressway. The 262 km-long Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway is likely to open some time next year, as assured by Nitin Gadkari a couple of months ago. The expressway, which will also be known as the National Expressway 7 or NE7, is being built by the NHAI at a cost of ₹17,000 crore. According to the minister, the travel time between the two cities will be reduced to just over two hours and promises to be a quicker ride than taking a flight. The expressway will have a speed limit of 120 kmph for light vehicles.

Dwarka Expressway

Delayed by several months due to restriction on construction work for pollution levels, India's first elevated urban highway is now expected to open before summer kicks in next year. The expressway is almost ready with some fine-tuning being done before its formal inauguration. The Dwarka Expressway, or the Norther Peripheral Road, stretches 29 kms. It connects Dwarka in Delhi to Gurugram in Haryana. The expressway starts at Shiv-Murti on NH-8 or the Delhi-Gurugram Expressway, and ends near Kherki Daula Toll Plaza, through Dwarka Sector 21, Gurugram border and Basai. Around 19 kms of the expressway falls in Haryana while the rest of the 10-km stretch is in Delhi. The expressway will help commuters with an alternate route to reach the Indira Gandhi International Airport as well as reduce about 50 per cent traffic on National Highway 8.

Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway

Travel time between Delhi and Amritsar by road is set to be reduced to just four hours when this new expressway is completed. The NHAI hopes that the 669-km long Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway will be operational by the end of next year. It promises Delhi to Katra drive in about six hours as the distance will be reduced by 58 kms. The expressway will connect several religious hotspots like Golden Temple in Amritsar, Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Taran Taran as well as Vaishno Devi in Katra.

Delhi-Dehradun Expressway

With the construction of the final phase of this expressway currently underway, it is expected that the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway will be open for traffic soon. It will help in reducing the travel time from Delhi to Dehradun to less than three hours. The last 20-km stretch of the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway passes through an eco-sensitive zone of Rajaji National Park. The NHAI is constructing Asia's longest elevated wildlife corridor that includes a 340-metre Daat Kali tunnel to bypass the reserved forest area.