Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Sunday dedicate to the nation two expressway projects — the first phase of the 14-lane, access-controlled Delhi-Meerut Expressway, and the nearly ₹11,000-crore Eastern Peripheral Expressway.

Both projects have been completed ahead of time, use solar power, drip irrigation, and will shorten the commute time, improving the fuel-efficiency of vehicles.

The first phase of the Delhi-Meerut Expressway stretches over an eight-km stretch between Nizamuddin Bridge in Delhi to the UP border, and has been built at a cost of ₹841 crore by the Welspun Group. The project has cycle tracks, six-lanes of of expressway, and eight service lanes.

Toll plazas

The other project is the Eastern Peripheral Expressway project, which will function like a Delhi-bypass for trucks that traverse from Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana to UP, Maharashtra and other States. The expressway has 30 entry- and exit-points for toll plazas — allowing people to enter and exit and pay for stretches that they use. This is the first expressway with a toll plaza that will house the control system. The EPE will play a major role in reducing vehicular emissions/pollution in Delhi.

Solar panels, greenery

It is also the first country’s expressway to use solar power along its entire length of 135 km. Its eight solar power plants have a capacity of 4 MW.

Interestingly, the EPE project has lakhs of trees that are seven-eight years old and sourced from Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh. “They were selected based on their carbon dioxide absorption capacity,” said Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari. He said that the project will help comply with the Supreme Court guidelines of lowering pollution in Delhi, inviting companies to set up logistics parks along the EPE. This is expected to divert thousands of trucks.

The Minister added they are looking at having a tie-up with Korean Expressway Corporation when the South Korean Premier visits India.

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