Dwarka Expressway: All you need to know about India's first elevated highway

PM Modi inaugurated the Haryana phase Dwarka Expressway today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Haryana section of the Dwarka Expressway on March 11. The stretch will help improve traffic flow and ease congestion between Delhi and Gurugram on the National Highway-48. Here are key things to know:

•  The total length of the Dwarka Expressway is 29 km, out of which 18.9 km falls in Haryana, while the remaining 10.1 km is in Delhi.
•  Dwarka Expressway is India's first elevated 8-lane access control urban expressway. The elevated road will be 9-kilometre long and 34-metre-wide.
•  The expressway will provide direct connectivity to the IGI Airport in Delhi and Gurugram Bypass.
•  It was constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 9,000 crore, as part of the Centre's Rs 60,000 crore highway development plan in the NCR to decongest the national capital.
•  The expressway's Delhi section near IGI Airport will have an eight-lane, 3.6km shallow tunnel. The tunnel, part of which is blast-proof, will help avoid security issues and interference with airport radar. It can also accommodate heavy traffic, approximately 40,000 cars per day, and includes emergency exits and a special control room.
•  The Haryana section of the Dwarka Expressway was built at a cost of around Rs 4,100 crore and includes two packages of 10.2-km Delhi-Haryana Border to Basai Rail-over-Bridge (ROB) and 8.7-km Basai ROB to Kherki Daula.
•  The expressway is being built in four phases, with segments stretching from Shiv Murti in Mahipalpur to Bijwasan (5.9km), Bijwasan ROB to the Delhi-Haryana border in Gurgaon (4.2km), the Delhi-Haryana border to Basai ROB (10.2km) in Haryana, and Basai to the Kherki Daula cloverleaf interchange (8.7km).
• The foundation stone for the project was laid on March 9, 2019 by the then Union ministers Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and Nitin Gadkari. (With inputs from agencies)