February 12,2023
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Sohna-Dausa stretch of the much-awaited Delhi-Mumbai Expressway today bringing travel time between Delhi and Jaipur down to 3.5 hours. The 1,386-km eight-lane access-controlled greenfield expressway will connect Delhi and Mumbai, reducing the travel time to around 12 hours and bringing cities on the route closer.
The expressway has been developed with a 21-meter median on principles of forgiving highways, allowing inward expansion. The project's initial budget in 2018 was ₹98,000 crore, and the construction of the expressway is expected to generate 10 crore man-days of employment.
15,000 hectares of land has been acquired along five states — Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra — for the project. There will be 94 wayside amenities and more than 40 major interchanges along the expressway, providing connectivity to cities such as Kota, Indore, Jaipur, Bhopal, Vadodara and Surat.
The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is set to be the first expressway in India and Asia to accommodate animal overpasses and underpasses. The alignment of the expressway has been designed to minimise its impact on the Ranthambore Wildlife Sanctuary.
A state-of-the-art automated traffic management system will also be installed on the expressway. Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said that the Delhi-Mumbai expressway will cut the distance between Delhi and Mumbai by 180 km, from 1,424 km to 1,242 km. The Sohna-Dausa stretch of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is expected to be opened for traffic from Tuesday.
The project is expected to revolutionise travel in India and boost economic activity along the route. With its advanced features and infrastructure, the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is set to become one of the most important highways in India.