Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, India's longest, to open tomorrow: 10 things to know

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 inaugurated and opened for public use tomorrow, February 12. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the first stretch of the expressway between Sohna in Haryana and Dausa in Rajasthan which is around 209 kms long. The entire expressway from Delhi to Mumbai will be opened in phases over the next few months as it aims to reduce travel time between the two cities by almost half.

Here are 10 big highlights of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway you should know before planning a long drive on this route.

THE LONGEST EXPRESSWAY

With an overall distance of 1,386 kms, Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is going to be the longest in India. It 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 has reduced distance between Delhi and Mumbai by 180 kms.

MOST-ADVANCED EXPRESSWAY

The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will also offer several features that most other highways in India do not. This greenfield expressway will come with automated traffic management system besides other features like frequent charging stations for electric vehicles, rain water harvesting every 500 metres and more. Overall, it will have more than 2,000 water recharge points. The expressway will also have a dedicated corridor to lay optical fiber cables, pipelines and set up solar power generation.

QUICKEST EXPRESSWAY

Launched in 2018, the entire Delhi-Mumbai Expressway project is slated to be completed within five years. The foundation stone was laid by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari in March, 2019. Considering the distance, this is the quickest India has built an functional expressway. The overall cost of building the expressway is pegged to be around ₹one lakh crore.

AMPLE PIT STOPS

Long drives often require pit stops to refresh and replenish. There will be 94 wayside amenities to improve the commuter experience on the expressway. These pit stops will also have provisions to park, recharge electric cars and even refuel. Among other things, these amenities will also have restaurants, dormitories, hospitals and food courts.

ECO-FRIENDLY EXPRESSWAY

Since the expressway will pass through several reserve forests, including Ranthambore, NHAI has added multiple animal overpasses and underpasses to prevent any accidents. It is a first for any expressway in India, as well as Asia. It will also have at least two tunnels through eco-sensitive zones like Mukundra sanctuary in Rajasthan and Matheran in Maharashtra.

WELL-CONNECTED

The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will have more than 40 major interchanges. It will connect two major cities between Delhi and Mumbai like Kota, Indore, Jaipur, Bhopal, Vadodara and Surat. Ultimately the expressway will connect Delhi to the upcoming Jewar Airport in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh and Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai.

EXPRESSWAY WITH MAXIMUM SPEED

The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will allow maximum speed limit any highway in India has to offer. Light vehicles like cars will be able to drive through at 120 kmph. Speed limit for heavy vehicles like buses and trucks are likely to be lower.

REDUCED TRAVEL TIME

The modern expressway with a top speed of 120 kmph will reduce the travel time between the national capital and the business capital of the country. According to Gadkari, one will take only 12 hours to cover the distance by road. Currently it takes around 24 hours to travel by car from Delhi to Mumbai. It will also bring cities like Jaipur closer to Delhi to around three hours.

WIDEST EXPRESSWAY

With eight lanes on offer, the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is one of the widest highways in India. It will also offer service lanes on either side for access control. The expressway also has provision to be expanded to 12 lanes in future. With overall 15,000-hectare land acquired to develop the expressway, it is the first with a 21-meter median on principles of forgiving highways allowing inward expansion.

JOB CREATION

The expressway is also expected to generate jobs for those living around. According to the Centre, the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will create 10 crore man-days of employment.

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