New Delhi: Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari will inaugurate the Delhi-Meerut Expressway package-3 on the September 30. The Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways, Gen (Retd) Dr VK Singh, will also be present on the occasion.

Delhi-Meerut Expressway package-3 is 22-km-long

The 82-kilometre-long Delhi-Meerut Expressway connects Delhi with Meerut in western Uttar Pradesh. A sum of Rs 8,346 crores is likely to be spent on the project. The third package from Dasna in Ghaziabad to Hapur is over 22 kilometres long, with a civil cost of Rs 1,989 crores. This six-lane section has 2+2 lane service roads on either sides and a 4.68-kilometre long 6-lane elevated corridor at Pilkhuwa. The project involves construction of a major bridge across Upper Ganga Canal, seven new minor bridges, a flyover at Hapur bypass, 11 vehicular underpasses, two pedestrian underpasses, two foot overbridges, six major junctions and 105 minor junctions.

Project will decongest Delhi NCR

The project will help in decongesting the National Capital Region and bring significant reduction in pollution level. It will also lead to reduction in travel time by more than an hour.

The 4.68-kilometre long 6-lane elevated corridor at Pilkhuwa has been conferred Gold Medal for innovation in construction technology. The Pilkhuwa Viaduct has also been awarded as outstanding concrete structure of western UP.

The backdrop

The Delhi-Meerut Expressway project is being implemented in four packages:

1. An 8.72-km-long 6-lane expressway/ eight-lane NH 24 from Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi to Ghazipur border, already completed in June 2018
2. A 19.28-km-long six-lane expressway/ 8-lane NH 24 from Ghazipur border to Dasna in UP which is 60 percent done
3. A 22.23-km-long six-lane NH 24 with 2+2 lane service roads on either sides from Dasna to Hapur in UP, which is being inaugurated
4. A 31.78-km-long greenfield six-lane expressway from Hapur to Meerut, 57 percent of which has been done