Delhi-Dehradun Expressway to be partially open by June: NHAI

A new expressway connecting national capital Delhi and Dehradun, capital of Uttarakhand, will soon be opened partially. According to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the first phase of the 210-km long highway is expected to be opened by the end of June this year. The first phase of the Delhi-Dehradun greenfield access-controlled Expressway will connect Akshardham Temple in Delhi and Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh, a distance of around 32 kms.

Delhi-Dehradun Expressway is expected to be fully operational by early next year. The first phase of the project was earlier scheduled to be completed by March. However, due to restrictions under the Graded Response Action Plan implemented during high pollution levels in Delhi, construction work of the expressway was delayed.

Delhi-Dehradun Expressway is expected to cut down travel time between the two cities by almost half. Currently, commuters use the Delhi-Meerut Expressway to travel between the two cities which takes around five hours. The new expressway promises to reduce the travel time to around two and a half hours.

The first phase of the Delhi-Meerut Expressway is distributed in two sections. The total distance covered between Akshardham and Baghpat is 31.65 kms and will go through Khekra and Mavi Kalan interchange on the Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE) in Baghpat. The first phase includes an elevated section of around 18 kms starting from Geeta Colony in Delhi and ending at Mavi village in Uttar Pradesh. According to an official at NHAI quoted by by Hindustan Times, “Phase 1 of the project is 90-95% complete, and work is on to set signage, expansion joints and other infrastructure in place. The work for the carriageways is also complete. We believe that phase 1 will be made operational by the end of June."

The Delhi-Dehradun Expressway is being built at a cost of around ₹8,300 crore. It is designed to support speed limit of 100 kmph for light vehicles. The expressway will also get Asia's largest wildlife elevated corridor, which spans around 12 kms of the highway, for unrestricted wildlife movement. The elevated wildlife corridor also includes a 340-metre long Daat Kali tunnel. The construction work for the last 20-km stretch of the highway near Dehradun is still underway.