After missing several deadlines, the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway, also known as the Western Peripheral Expressway (WPE), which bypasses the National Capital on its west, will be inaugurated on October 2. The original deadline for this project, conceived by then Prime Minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2002, was July 2009.
The 136-km long expressway was caught under numerous controversies and litigation. The WPE project is the part of a ring road around Delhi to divert nearly two lakh commercial vehicles which pass the Capital every day. The WPE offers signal-free connectivity to traffic headed towards Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Punjab, and J&K.
Top sources said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to inaugurate the stretch on October 2. Sources said the project works is expected to be handed over to the Ministry within 10 days.
“The issue of the WPE had come up during Pragati II meeting chaired by the Prime Minister on August 29 when the PMO expressed annoyance over delay… The PMO has asked the Cabinet Secretary to hold a high-level meeting with all stakeholders and ensure it is completed by September end,” sources said.
The final touches are being given to the 83-km stretch of the Kundli-Manesar section executed at a cost of Rs 1,863 crore. The 53-km Palwal-Manesar stretch of the expressway, completed at a cost of Rs 457.81 crore, was opened to traffic in April 2016.
“With a large number of vehicles off the Delhi roads, it will make commuting hassle-free. The traffic system will also function much smoothly, and it is expected to bring down the number of traffic offenders, accidents and fatalities. The WPE is designed to ensure that such vehicles take the expressway, reducing congestion and pollution on the city’s roads,” officials said.
The WPE project has been divided into three packages of 45 km each. Three major camps at Kundli, Manesar and Palwal have been established, supported by three ancillary camps at Jassoure Kheri, Badli and Taoru.
Conceived as the second Outer Ring Road to the National Capital Territory, it connects four of India’s busiest National Highways --- NH-1 near Kundli (Sonepat), NH-10 near Bahadurgarh, NH-8 at Manesar (Gurugram), and NH-2 near Palwal (Faridabad).
The expressway will act as a Delhi bypass for traffic coming from north of Delhi on NH-1 and going to south of Delhi on NH2 and to the west along NH-8. The KMP expressway crosses seven State Highways, four major district roads, 104 village and panchayat roads, four railway overbridges and 18 irrigation canals, distributaries and other seasonal streams. There are around 64 villages in the 500 metre vicinity of the KMP expressway.
As per original plan, a total of 220 major structures, including 10 Toll Plazas, have been erected on the expressway. The WPE will have 27 major flyovers (over state roads, district roads and railway lines) and 21 minor flyovers (over drainages). It will also have three grade separators with 4 clover leaf structures at NH-1 and NH-08 intersections and one double trumpet inter-change at the NH-10 intersection. It also includes special features like 31 cattle crossings, 33 agricultural vehicular underpasses, 47 underpasses and 61 pedestrian crossings.