Meerut to Prayagraj in 5 hours soon? Ganga Expressway likely to be ready soon

Ganga Expressway, which will become the third longest expressway in India, is expected to be completed by the end of this year. The Uttar Pradesh state government has asked the developer to speed up construction to be able to make it operational by December. The expressway, which will be 594 kms long in its first phase, will connect Meerut in western UP and Prayagraj in eastern part of the state. Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of the state, had announced the construction of Ganga Expressway during Kumbh Mela back in 2019. He now wants the expressway to be operational before the upcoming Mahakumbh festival to be held from January 14 next year.

The Uttar Pradesh Expressway Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) has been directed to complete work in time to operationalise the Ganga Expressway by December 31. Once completed and opened for use, the expressway will become the state’s longest six-lane expressway. It will also drastically bring down the time taken to travel between the two cities. The design speed of the expressway will be 120 kmph whereas travelling speed will be 100 kmph. It is expected that the travel time between Meerut and Prayagraj will come down to about five hours.

In terms of length, Ganga Expressway will become India's third longest expressway. The upcoming Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is the longest, spanning more than 1,350 kms in length. The second longest is the Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway which runs for a little over 700 kms. Uttar Pradesh currently has four out of top 10 expressways in India. Ganga Expressway will add a fifth to its list.

The expressway will pass through 518 villages in 12 districts. It will start from Bijauli village on Meerut-Bulandshahr highway and end near Judapur Dadu village on NH 19 in Prayagraj. The expressway will also be able to handle big planes landing on it. The 3.50 km-long airstrip will be constructed in Shahjahanpur. It will also have two large bridges over the Ganga and Ramganga rivers.

The unique aspect of Ganga Expressway is that it will link other expressways in the state through Lucknow-Agra Expressway, Purvanchal Expressway and Ballia Link Expressway. Once completed, the total network of expressways in Uttar Pradesh will be 1,900 km and provide pace to industrial, agriculture development and draw investments in various sectors.