• Source:JND
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Delhi-Dehradun Expressway: Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways, Harsh Malhotra, recently conducted an inspection of the 210-km Delhi-Saharanpur-Dehradun Expressway. The visit comes as officials project the expressway's completion within the next 2 to 3 months.

Malhotra, who represents East Delhi in Parliament, was briefed by officials that the remaining construction work is expected to be wrapped up by August. Expressing satisfaction with the pace of work, the Minister said the expressway would play a key role in easing traffic congestion in the National Capital Territory of Delhi.

Accompanied by officials from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Malhotra highlighted that this new expressway would significantly reduce traffic load on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway and other surrounding routes. He also took note of the challenges and bottlenecks raised by NHAI and instructed them to accelerate efforts to ensure timely completion of the project so it can be opened to the public as scheduled.

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The Delhi-Dehradun Expressway will begin at Akshardham Temple in Delhi and pass through key areas including Baghpat, Baraut, Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, and Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh before reaching Dehradun. With a sanctioned cost of approximately Rs 12,000 crore, the expressway is designed for speeds up to 100 km/h and will reduce the travel time between Delhi and Dehradun from the current 6.5 hours to just 2.5 hours.

Additionally, a spur from the expressway will provide direct access to Haridwar and connect to the Char Dham Highway, improving connectivity to major pilgrimage destinations and hill stations in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.

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Demonstrating its commitment to environmental conservation, the Narendra Modi government has also constructed Asia’s longest elevated wildlife corridor spanning 12 km within Rajaji National Park as part of the expressway project.

Initially slated for completion by December 2024, the project faced delays due to land acquisition and technical issues.