Nitin Gadkari to review progress of Delhi-Mumbai Expressway on September 16-17

Nitin Gadkari

Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari will review the progress of Delhi-Mumbai Expressway (DME) on September 16-17 covering Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, an official statement said on Wednesday.

The statement said that being developed at a cost of Rs 98,000 crore, the 1,380-km-long Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will be the longest expressway in India.

It will enhance connectivity between the national capital, Delhi and Financial Capital, Mumbai, the statement added.

The expressway will connect urban centers of Delhi through Delhi-Faridabad-Sohna section of the corridor along with a spur to Jewar Airport and Jawaharlal Nehru Port to Mumbai through a spur in Mumbai.

In addition, the statement said the expressway which passes through the six states of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra will improve the connectivity to economic hubs like Jaipur, Kishangarh, Ajmer, Kota, Chittorgarh, Udaipur, Bhopal, Ujjain, Indore, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Surat bringing economic prosperity to millions.

Delhi-Mumbai Expressway was kick started in 2018 with the foundation stone being laid on March 9, 2019.

According to the statement, out of the 1,380 km, contracts for more than 1,200 km have already been awarded.

The new expressway is expected to halve the commute time between Delhi and Mumbai from nearly 24 hours to 12 hours and shorten the distance by 130 km.

This will generate annual fuel savings of more than 320 million liters and reduce CO2 emissions by 850 million kg which is equivalent to the planting of 40 million trees, the statement said.

It said the expressway is the first in Asia and only the second in the world to feature animal overpasses to facilitate unrestricted movement of wildlife.

The DME will have three animal and five overpasses with a combined length of seven km dedicated for unencumbered wildlife movement.

According to the statement, the expressway will also include two iconic 8 lane tunnels, one tunneling through Mukundra sanctuary without disturbing the endangered fauna in the region for 4 km and the second 4-km eight-lane-tunnel will pass through the Matheran eco-sensitive zone.