NHAI To Complete 12 Lane Delhi-Baghpat Section Of Delhi-Dehradun Expressway By 2023

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) plans to complete the 32km long Delhi-Baghpat section of the proposed Delhi-Dehradun national highway expressway by the end of December 2023.

The Delhi to Baghpat section is proposed to be built with 12 lanes, with six lanes dedicated to long-distance travellers.

The 32 km section has been divided into two phases: a 15 km stretch from Delhi’s Akshardham to Loni in Uttar Pradesh (UP) and a 17 km stretch from Loni to Baghpat, reports Hindustan Times.

“The work order for the 17 km stretch in UP ( to be built at a cost of Rs 1,654 crore) was given in May and the second work order for the Akshardham to Khekra stretch ( to be built at a cost of Rs 1,264 crore) will be issued within a week. The two phases are scheduled to be ready by December 2023. Once the highway is complete, there will be a direct link between Delhi and Dehradun,” said Mudit Garg, project director, NHAI.

“The highway will cater to about 20,000-30,000 passenger car units per day (a measure of traffic on a road) and will reduce the burden on the Delhi-Meerut road, which largely caters to the long-distance traffic passing through Ghaziabad,” Garg added.

The under-construction Delhi-Dehradun expressway will reduce the distance between the two cities from 235 km to 210 km and compress the travel time from 6.5 hours to just 2.5 hours once it is completed.

The expressway will have 25 kilometres of elevated road - 6 kilometres in the open, 14 in tunnels. The six-lane highway will pass through pristine forest areas.

The entire corridor is designed for driving with a minimum of 100 Kmph speed.

Delhi--Dehradun expressway will be the country’s first highway where there will be a 12-km long elevated corridor to protect wildlife and enable unhindered movement of animals. The corridor will be built under EPC (Engineering, procurement and construction) mode.