Green Highways

14-Lane express highway from Meerut-Delhi, the first of its kind in India, inaugurated

Phase-1 of the 14-lane Meerut-Delhi expressway and the Eastern Peripheral Expressway was inaugurated by PM Modi today. This is a major breakthrough for the capital city. The Eastern Peripheral Expressway is claimed to decongest the traffic of the city and it is also the first smart and green e-way in the country.

The Meerut-Delhi expressway, which is the first 14-lane highway, runs from Nizamuddin Bridge to the Uttar Pradesh border. The construction of the highway completed in 18 months as against the estimated period of 30 months. The new expressway will cut the travel time of people up to a great extent.

A few insights on the Delhi Meerut Expressway are:

1. The expressway is built at a cost of Rs. 841 crores.
2. It has a six-lane expressway with 4+4 lane highway on either side of it.
3. The expressway also has a 2.5-metre wide cycle track along with a 1.5-meter footpath.
4. For the first time the highway will have vertical gardens with solar panel lighting, drip water irrigation to reduce the pollution levels.
5. The expressway also has the replica of monuments like Qutub Minar, Ashok Stambh and more.
6. The expressway is equipped with Advanced Traffic Management Systems (ATMS) and CCTVs to monitor the regular traffic and to ensure safety of commuters.

The 14 lane Delhi-Meerut Expressway is developed by NHAI and Welspun Enterprises under its ‘Hybrid Annuity Model’.

Following are some insights on the six-lane Eastern Peripheral Expressway:

1. The total cost of the project went up to Rs. 11,000 crore for the stretch of 135 KM.
2. The green highway is expected to bring down the pollution of the city by 27 %.
3. The construction of this amazing highway was completed in a record time of 17 months.
4. This will be the first highway in India to be lit by solar power along with the provisions of rainwater harvesting that has been made on every 500 metres on either side.
5. The EPE starts from Kundli and stretches till Palwal.

Both of these highways are major milestones that have been achieved in our country.