Dwarka Expressway to open before Diwali, Nitin Gadkari shares latest update

Dwarka elevated urban expressway is going to be completed before Diwali. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said that it will take no more than four months to complete the construction work o the key upcoming highway that will offer smoother traffic flow between the national capital and Gurugram. On Thursday, the Union Minister took a ground survey of the new expressway, being built at a cost of nearly ₹10,000 crore.

Dwarka Expressway will become India's first elevated urban highway and will be one of the shortest ones constructed in recent times. The 29-km expressway will connect Dwarka in Delhi to Gurugram in Haryana. The expressway starts from Shiv-Murti on NH-8 or the Delhi-Gurugram Expressway, and ends near Kherki Daula Toll Plaza, through Dwarka Sector 21, at Gurugram border and Basai. Around 19 kms of the expressway falls in Haryana while the rest of the 10-km stretch is in Delhi.

To construct the new expressway, authorities have used nearly 2 lakh metric tonne of steel which is 30 times more than what was used to build the iconic Eiffel Tower. The expressway will also use around 20 lakh cubic metre of concrete which is 6 times higher than what was used to build Burj Khalifa, world's tallest building.

Dwarka Expressway will have a total of 16 lanes. It will also have provision for a 3-lane service road on each side for easy access and exits. It will have four interchanges, which include tunnel or underpass and elevated flyover, for this purpose. The Dwarka Expressway will also have the longest and widest urban road tunnel measuring 3.6-km in length and 8 lanes in width. Dwarka Expressway will have automated tolling system and intelligent transportation system (ITS). It will also have high-tech traffic management systems which include Advanced Traffic Management System, Toll Management System, CCTV cameras among others.

Gadkari had earlier said that the expressway will help commuters from Dwarka with an alternate route to reach the Indira Gandhi International Airport. It will also help to reduce about 50 per cent traffic on National Highway 8.