On 12 February, Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened the first section of the mega highway connecting Delhi and Mumbai – more specifically, the 246-km-long Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot section of the Delhi-Mumbai expressway.
Here are a few facts you need to know about the expressway:
Country's longest expressway: With an overall distance of 1,386 km, the Delhi-Mumbai expressway would be the longest such structure in India –once completed. It is divided into four sections. The remainder of the stretches is set to be completed by the end of this year.
Which states will it pass through? The expressway will pass through Haryana (129 km), Rajasthan (373 km), Madhya Pradesh (244 km), Gujarat (429 km), and Maharashtra (171 km), while providing connectivity to major cities like Kota, Indore, Jaipur, Bhopal, Vadodara, and Surat. Delhi has the shortest stretch, at 9 km.
The expressway begins at the DND Flyway in Delhi and will stretch up to the Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Maharashtra.
Along the route, the expressway will serve 93 PM Gati Shakti Economic Nodes, 13 ports, eight major airports, and eight multi-modal logistics parks (MMLPs) along with new upcoming greenfield airports such as Jewar Airport, Navi Mumbai Airport, and JNPT port, according to Moneycontrol.
The new expressway spans eight lanes and can be expanded to 12 lanes.
(Photo: Twitter/@nitin_gadkari)
How much will it reduce the travel time by? Currently, the travel time between Delhi and Mumbai is 24 hours. But once the highway is complete, the time will be reduced to 12 hours, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said.
What is the cost of the project? The total project value, including the land acquisition cost, is around Rs 1 lakh crore, according to a report by Moneycontrol.
Eight-lane expressway: The new expressway spans eight lanes and can be expanded to 12 lanes. The government has reserved space in the middle of the road for four additional lanes during future expansion plans, which will convert the expressway into 12 lanes.
Permitted speed limit on the highway: The maximum speed limit on the eight-lane wide, access-controlled expressway will be 120 kmph.
The greenfield expressway (construction of a project on a new alignment) is being constructed using German technology, wherein the road surfaces are being built using multiple layers of concrete, and is expected to last at least 50 years.
What amenities will be available on the expressway? The expressway will have 93 wayside amenities such as ATMs, retail shops, food courts, EV charging stations, and fuel pumps.
It will also be the first highway in India to have helipads and fully-equipped trauma centres every 100 km.
There will be three animal overpasses and five underpasses in the entire stretch to facilitate the unrestricted movement of wildlife.
(Photo: Twitter/@nitin_gadkari)
Animal over and underpasses: Since the structure will cut through several forest reserves like Ranthambore, there will be animal overpasses and underpasses along the lines of "animal bridges" in Netherlands for the safe passage of wildlife.
There will be three animal overpasses and five underpasses in the entire stretch to facilitate the unrestricted movement of wildlife.
"We must do good for wildlife preservation. For the shielding of Wildlife Habitats, we are constructing overpasses, underpasses, and boundary walls on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway," Gadkari said.
The structure will be the first in India in Asia and only the second in the world to have animal overpasses and underpasses.
An electric cable will be laid between the Jaipur and Delhi structure, and e-trucks and e-buses will be able to ply on this highway, Gadkari added.
The expressway will have a green cover of 20 lakh trees, watered with drip irrigation, and has a rainwater harvesting system installed every 500 metres.
Gadkari said that the expressway would be a growth engine for the 500 backward blocks it passes through.
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