The new Delhi-Meerut Highway, to be completed by next month, will cut down the travelling time between the two cities to 45 minutes from the present three-four hours.
The first leg of the expressway will have14-lane highway and 2.5 metre cycle track and is getting completed in just 14 months as against the scheduled 30 months.
“This is also the first national highway in the country with 14 lanes, and has several features that would help reduce pollution. These include a 2.5 metre wide cycle track on either side of the highway, a vertical garden on the Yamuna Bridge, solar lighting system and watering of plants through drip irrigation only,” said Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation while doing inspection of NH24.
He further added that “this highway will be developed further upto Lucknow, and will be a lifeline for the people of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. The highway will also reduce traffic congestion on the Delhi – Meerut route, which in turn will lower the pollution levels in the region”.
The foundation stone of this expressway was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 31, 2015 and the total cost of the project is Rs 7,566 crore. Around 75 per cent of the work— from Nizamuddin bridge to Delhi-UP border — is complete.
More than 495 slums have been rehabilitated for the project and 40,000 saplings are to be planted in lieu of 3,261 trees removed. Under the Phase-II , expressway will be eight-laned from Delhi/UP Border to Dasna for 19.28 km, while Phase-III will involve 6-laning of NH-24 for 22.27 km from Dasna to Hapur. Phase-IV will be for 31.70 km of new greenfield alignment from Dasna to Meerut.
