The Delhi-Mumbai expressway project has now gained momentum as the acquisition of land in Haryana, altogether 80 km, has been completed. This means that the final construction work of the expressway is likely to start soon! According to a TOI report, the bidding process is currently on and the acquisition of land is ongoing in other states namely Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The eight-lane road crossing through Sohna in Gurugram will link the Western Peripheral Expressway with the DND flyway in Delhi. In a bid to decongest the national capital, the Ministry of Highways announced a plan in 2015, to develop half a dozen link roads in order to create a direct connectivity to the Eastern and Western Peripheral Expressway from Delhi.
The land acquisition for the 1,250km expressway which is to be built at an estimated Rs 60,000 crore, is under process in Rajasthan (380km), Gujarat (120km), Madhya Pradesh (300km) and Maharashtra (370km). Once complete, the expressway will reduce the existing distance of 1,450 km by road to about 1,250km and will bring down the travel time to about 12 hours since it will be a signal-free stretch. Currently, it takes at least 24 hours to cover the distance between Delhi and Mumbai through NH-8. Unlike the newly inaugurated KMP expressway where the speed limit has been fixed at 80km as of now, the Delhi-Mumbai expressway will have a speed limit of 120kmph. Currently, the average speed on this expressway is 100kmph.
A senior National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) official was quoted in the report saying that the bidding process is currently going on for the entire project. The bids will be received on December 5, after which the work will be awarded and then it can start. They hope to complete the project in two years’ time. He explained that in Gurugram, the expressway will start at Alipur Road in Sohna. In Haryana, 80km of the expressway will come up, and the land acquisition has been done for the same. The corridor will cross the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) expressway near Sohna and the border of Haryana and Rajasthan. Also, a cloverleaf will be built at the KMP expressway.
Around three lakh vehicles take the NH-8 everyday, which provides connectivity between Mumbai and Delhi. This is one of the major reasons behind the congestion on this stretch. With the commencement of the new link, the NH-8 will be decongested of vehicular traffic. Also, it will help to reduce the overall traffic congestion in the capital city. As the road is extended till Delhi, it will be a complete stretch from the national capital to Mumbai, which was originally conceived by the government. The government announced this project in the month of April.
