The much awaited first section of the ambitious Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is all set to be commissioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday. He will dedicate the first completed section, Delhi –Dausa–Lalsot of the 1,400 km Delhi Mumbai Expressway to the nation.
The opening of the Rajasthan leg of the expressway will reduce the travel time from Delhi to Jaipur from present five hours to around 3.5 hours and will provide a major boost to the economic development of the entire region.
The 246 km Delhi–Dausa –Lalsot section of the Delhi Mumbai Expressway has been developed at a cost of more than `12,150 crore.
Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will be India’s longest expressway with length of 1,386 km.
It will reduce travel distance between Delhi and Mumbai by 12 per cent from 1,424 km to 1,242 km and travel time by 50 per cent from 24 hours to 12 hours.
It is passing through six States of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra and connect major cities like Kota, Indore, Jaipur, Bhopal, Vadodara and Surat.
When fully completed and operational, the Expressway will also serve 93 PM Gati Shakti Economic Nodes, 13 Ports, 8 Major Airports and 8 multi-modal logistics parks (MMLPs) and will be useful to new upcoming greenfield airports such as Jewar Airport, Navi Mumbai Airport and JNPT port.
The expressway will have a catalytic impact in the developmental trajectory of all adjoining regions, thus contributing in a major way in the economic transformation of the country.
According to the Road Transport Highways Ministry during the programme, the Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone of 247 kilometres of National Highway projects to be developed at a cost of more than Rs 5,940 crore.
This includes 67-km long four-lane spur road from Bandikui to Jaipur to be developed at a cost of more than Rs 2000 crore, a six-lane spur road from Kotputli to Baraodaneo, to be developed at a cost of about Rs 3,775 crore and two-lane paved shoulder of Lalsot - Karoli section, being developed at a cost of about Rs 150 crore.
The expressway is being constructed with an initial budget of Rs 98,000 crore. According to Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, it will reduce the distance between Delhi and Mumbai by 180 km ( from 1424 km to 1242 km).
Depending on the volume of traffic plans are thereby to expand it to a 12-lane expressway in the future. The reduction in distance and travel time is set to result in annual fuel savings of more than 320 million litres and reduce CO2 emissions by 850 million kg, the Ministry estimates. Over two million trees and shrubs are also planned to be planted along the highway.
Significantly, the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is set to introduce certain features seldom seen in road construction in India and a state-of-art traffic management system.
There will also be a dedicated three metre wide corridor for laying utility lines including fibre optic cables, pipelines as well as solar power generation.
The expressway will also have provisions for rain water harvesting at intervals of 500 m, with over 2000+ water recharge points.
A crucial feature of the project will be its provisions for “wildlife conservation”. The expressway is the first in Asia and only the second in the world to feature animal overpasses and underpasses to facilitate unrestricted movement of wildlife. Furthermore, the expressway has been aligned in a way to minimise destruction of protected forests.
Two iconic 8-lane tunnels will also be built, one through Mukundra sanctuary without disturbing the endangered fauna in the region and the second through the Matheran eco-sensitive zone.