8 Super Expressways In North India That Fulfil Your Need For Speed

It’s the poster boy of the country’s infra projects, costing a whopping Rs 13,000 crore while 4,406 hectares had to be acquired to see it through. The 6-lane and 165 km long expressway runs all the way from the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway near Pari Chowk to Agra (near NH-2) and passes through Gautam Buddha Nagar, Aligarh, Mathura and Hathras on its way – taking around 100-120 minutes instead of the earlier commute of 4 hours.

The expressway lies between the left bank of the river Yamuna and the Old Grand Trunk Road (NH-91). Construction work for the e-way started in August 2008 and the road was opened to traffic just 4 years later, on 9 August, 2012. The expressway has a design speed of 120km/h, with a posted speed limit of 100km/h for light vehicles and 60km/h for heavy vehicles. It also features 3 main toll plazas, 41 minor bridges and 70 vehicular underpasses. Safety measures have been taken to counter potential flood threats as most parts of the e-way lies on an embankment.

Built on the design, finance, build, operate and transfer (DFBOT) model, the project was developed by Jaypee Infratech. Jaypee will collect tolls for 36 years and will also develop 5 integrated townships on 500 hectares each at Noida, Jaganpur, Mirzapur, Tappal (near Aligarh) and Kuber (near Agra) for commercial, industrial and residential use.

Image: Wikimedia Commons

This 8-lane, 9.2 km long tolled expressway connects South Delhi to Noida, a part of the National Capital Region and the fastest growing industrial-commercial hub in UP. Built by the Noida Toll Bridge Company under a PPP variant known as Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) model, the project mainly included a 552m bridge over the river Yamuna, 3 minor bridges and a flyover at Ashram Chowk. The e-way cost Rs 372 crore and became operational in just 4 months. It was opened in February 2001 and was extended in 2008 to link Delhi’s Mayur Vihar directly to DND Flyway. DND has two toll plazas at Noida and Mayur Vihar ends, and a capacity of 2,22,000 vehicles/day. It is also the first toll plaza in India to be certified ISO: 9001:2008 compliant for excellence in operations & maintenance and customer Services.

Image: Wikimedia Commons

This 6-lane expressway spans 24.53 km and connects Noida, a part of the National Capital Region (NCR), to the fast-expanding residential-industrial hub of Greater Noida in Gautam Buddha Nagar. It starts from Sector 15A in Noida and ends at the Alpha commercial belt in Greater Noida. Total project cost stood at around Rs 400 crore and the road was thrown open to the public back in 2002. As the Yamuna Expressway starts from Greater Noida, the entire stretch (DND-Noida-Greater Noida Expressway-Yamuna Expressway) now offers a fast and smooth drive to Agra. Currently, expansion work is under way to connect Greater Noida to the Taj Economic Zone and the proposed international airport and aviation hub, to be constructed along the Yamuna Expressway.

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Starting at Dhaula Kuan, this 8-lane and 28 km long expressway connects Delhi to Gurgaon/Manesar and features 11 flyovers and overpasses. One of the largest BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) projects, the e-way was awarded to Jaypee DSC Ltd (now Delhi Gurgaon Super Connectivity Ltd or DGSCL) in 2002. Although the Jaypee Group’s exit from the project in 2004 led to considerable delay, the expressway was completed in January 2008, costing more than Rs 1,000 crore. It has 4 toll plazas in place including a 32-lane toll plaza at Sirhaul at the Delhi-Haryana border, the biggest in South Asia and the second biggest in Asia. But according to latest developments, the government/NHAI is all set to take it over and plans are afoot to remove the 32-lane toll plaza to ease the traffic at Sirhaul border, which sees nearly 2 lakh vehicles cross the congested toll gate every day. There will be only one toll gate at Kherki Dhaula for the passengers crossing NH-8.

Interestingly, this expressway is a part of the Golden Quadrilateral under the National Highways Development Project (NHDP) and focuses on improving road connectivity between the four metros of India (Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai) by developing 4-6 lane highways between them.

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Also called the Northern Peripheral Road, this upcoming 8-lane expressway is another noteworthy PPP project and will cover a stretch of 18 km. It will start from Dwarka in south-west Delhi and go past Bijwasan and Palam Vihar before hitting NH-8 at Kherki Dhaula. It will then pass Gurgaon’s Pataudi Road, at the foothills of the Aravali Hills. The project will cost around Rs 120 crore and the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) awarded a joint contract to JSR Construction and India Bulls Construction in April 2011 to develop 14 km. Work is yet to start on the rest of the 4 km stretch in New Palam Vihar as existing landowners have to be compensated with alternative plots, according to a court order.

This e-way is being developed as an additional link road between Delhi and Gurgaon – so that traffic can be eased on the Delhi-Gurgaon e-way. The NPR stretch will have a smooth traffic flow as well as there are provisions for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridors in several sections of the e-way. The speedway will have extensive green belt on both sides and is expected to be finished by March 2017.

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Also known as the Western Peripheral Expressway, this upcoming 135.6 km long road will act as a Delhi bypass and ensure easy passage for traffic coming from north of Delhi and going to south or west. The KMP Expressway starts from Kundli in Sonipat (5 km north of Delhi border) and passes NH-10 (5 km north-west of Bahadurgarh), NH-8 (north-west part of Manesar, near Gurgaon-Pataudi-Rewari state highway), NH-71B (10 km south of Sohna, near Gurgaon-Sohna-Nuh-Alwar state highway) and NH-2 (5 km south of Palwal and about 40 km south of Delhi border). A total of 16 overpasses and underpasses at state highways crossings and major district roads will also be constructed, along with 4 bus bays. However, the project has been delayed for more than 4 years now and only 68% work has been finished till date. 

The KMP Expressway is a BOT project being developed by KMP Expressway Ltd, a special purpose vehicle formed in 2006 with DS Construction (who also handled Delhi-Gurgaon e-way) in the lead. Original project cost stood at Rs1,915 crore, but after DSC failed its latest deadline in May 2013, the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) may cancel its contract.

Image: Gurgaon Real Estate

A part of the Golden Quadrilateral project, this 4-lane, dual-carriageway road is the longest bypass of the country and covers a distance of 85 km. It starts at Kokhraj on NH-2, runs on the highway for 2 km and then takes the new route that runs north of Allahabad city. The stretch ends at Handia as the expressway rejoins the existing alignment of NH-2. The e-way passes through a scenic route with agricultural land on both sides and also includes a 1 km-long bridge across the river Ganga. It considerably reduces commute time as people can now bypass the crowded NH-2 while travelling between Kanpur and Varanasi. The expressway was built by NHAI, Larsen & Turbo, HCC and OSE-KMC (JV), with $320 million funding from the World Bank. It became operational in June 2009.

Image: Allahabad.nic.in

This 4-lane high-traffic expressway covers 35 km and touches both NH-21 and NH-22. Built on BOT basis by the GMR Group, with assistance from the World Bank, the e-way was completed in 30 months at a cost of Rs 298 crore. It was opened in December 2009.

Image: Skyscrapercity.com