Delhi-Meerut Eway to be ready in 6 months: Gadkari

The Delhi-Meerut Expressway will be ready within six months and it will not only cut travel time by over an hour but also bring prosperity in the region, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Monday.

Terming Rs 8,346 crore Delhi-Meerut Expressway the highway of growth, the road and highways minister said the project will also significantly reduce pollution in the national capital region.

He was inaugurating the expressway's 22-km third phase from Dasna in Ghaziabad to Hapur built at a cost of Rs 1,058 crore.

"The Delhi-Meerut Expressway will be completed within six months. It will bring prosperity to the region, and will help in decongesting the NCR. It will also lead to reduction in travel time by more than 1 hour, and bring significant reduction in pollution level. Highways and infrastructure projects are directly related to the development of an area," Gadkari said addressing a public rally during the launch of the third phase of the project.

He said the Ghazipur-Dasna section of the project (package 2) will be completed in next three months.

Gadkari said projects worth about Rs 60,000 crore were underway to decongest Delhi-NCR.

The 82-km long Delhi-Meerut Expressway connects Delhi with Meerut in western Uttar Pradesh.

The Dasna-Hapur 6-lane section has 2+2 lane service roads on either sides, and a 4.68-km long 6-lane elevated corridor at Pilkhuwa. The third phase also has seven new bridges, a flyover at Hapur bypass, 11 vehicular underpasses, two pedestrian underpasses, two foot overbridges, six major junctions and 105 minor junctions.

The 4.68-km long 6-lane elevated corridor at Pilkhuwa has been conferred a gold medal for innovation in construction technology, and has also been awarded as an outstanding concrete structure of western UP.

The Delhi-Meerut Expressway project is being implemented in four packages - an 8.72 km long 6-lane expressway/ 8-lane NH 24 from Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi to Ghazipur border, completed in June 2018; a 19.28 km long 6-lane expressway/ 8-lane NH 24 from Ghazipur border to Dasna.

The other two packages are 22.23 km long 6-lane NH 24 with 2+2 lane service roads on either sides from Dasna to Hapur in UP, and a 31.78 km long greenfield 6-lane expressway from Hapur to Meerut.

Gadkari also launched the use of plastic waste in National Highways construction at Delhi-Ghaziabad border.

He said the ministry is encouraging the use of waste plastic in highway construction, especially on National Highways within 50 km periphery of urban areas that have a population of 5 lakh or more.

A stretch of road has recently been constructed using waste plastic on NH-48 near Dhaula Kuan, he said and added that a portion of Delhi- Meerut Expressway and Gurugram- Sohna road have also been planned for construction, using waste plastic.

Plastic waste has already been used in wearing courses of National Highways' construction on pilot basis in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

According the the ministry, construction of 1 km of 4-lane highway can help in disposal of approximately 7 tonne of waste plastic.

Gadkari said use of waste plastic was in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's drive in this direction and use of plastic in highways could result in higher resistance to deformation, increased durability and improved fatigue life besides improved stability and strength.

He said this opens up an avenue for environment-friendly disposal of waste plastic.

Adding value to waste plastic will go a long way in curbing the menace of plastic littering, besides helping in disposal of tonnes of plastic waste in the years to come, he added.

Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways V K Singh addressing the gathering said the government has embarked upon an ambitious infrastructure development plan for the NCR, which will change the development scenario of the entire area.

Keshav Chandra Maurya, Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh assured that the state government will accord priority to solving the problems before the highways sector, as these are important for upliftment of people in villages and suburbs.