Sohna: Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari and Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar reviewed the progress of Delhi-Mumbai Expressway (DME), on Thursday. Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh was also present at the occasion. The 8-lane Expressway which will cover Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, is expected to halve the commute time between the cities from nearly 24 hours to 12 hours.
Being built as part of the first phase of the Bharatmala Pariyojana, the project is expected to be completed by March, 2023, at a cost of Rs 98,000 crore. After completion, the 1,380-km-long Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will be the longest expressway in India, and will enhance connectivity between the national capital Delhi and financial capital Mumbai. The expressway will connect urban centers of Delhi through Delhi-Faridabad-Sohna section of the corridor along with a subdivision to Jewar Airport and Jawaharlal Nehru Port to Mumbai through a spur in Mumbai.
In addition, 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, Ajmer, Kishangarh, Chittorgarh, Kota, Udaipur, Bhopal, Indore, Ujjain, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Surat bringing economic prosperity to millions, the statement released by ministry noted.
Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, kick started in 2018, includes 2 iconic 8 lane tunnels. One, tunneling through Mukundra sanctuary for 4 km without disturbing the endangered fauna in the region while the second, 4-km-eight lane tunnel will pass through the Matheran eco-sensitive zone. It is the first in Asia and only the second in the world to feature animal overpasses to enable unrestricted movement of wildlife. The DME will have three animal passages and five overpasses, with a combined length of seven km dedicated for unconstrained wildlife movement. Union Minister Gadkari also said that the road ministry is working on 15 projects worth Rs 53,000 crore, to reduce traffic jam problem and air pollution problem in Delhi-NCR.
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