After the Ganga Expressway, 11 more new expressways will be built in Uttar Pradesh, land acquisition work has started.

News Topical, Digital Desk : When Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the newly constructed 594 kilometer long Ganga Expressway in Hardoi on Wednesday, the total length of the expressway projects being run in the state will become 1910 kilometers.

With this, Uttar Pradesh's share in the country's expressway network will exceed 60 percent. The series of expressway projects includes the state's largest Ganga Expressway, from Meerut to Prayagraj, which will be inaugurated on April 29th. The Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway, which is currently under construction, is also scheduled to be inaugurated in May.

Once operational, the total length of expressways in the state will reach 1,973 kilometers. The Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway is being constructed by the National Highways Authority of India. The remaining expressways are being constructed by the Uttar Pradesh Expressway Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA).

The Ganga Expressway is a significant project of the state government. Its foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 18, 2021. A year later, after completing land acquisition and finalizing the design, UPDA began work on the project in November 2022.

This six-lane access-controlled greenfield expressway has been constructed by UPDA with the view to expand it to eight lanes in the future.

The government has spent ₹36,230 crore to build this expressway, which passes through 519 villages in 12 districts: Meerut, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Amroha, Sambhal, Badaun, Shahjahanpur, Hardoi, Unnao, Rae Bareli, Pratapgarh, and Prayagraj. This expressway will provide direct connectivity between western Uttar Pradesh and the eastern part of the state. It will facilitate trade and people's movement, as well as industrial development in the state.

By the year 2029, there will be 3200 km of connectivity.

At the government's direction, UPDA has also begun work on 11 new expressway and link expressway projects. Land acquisition for these is underway.

UPDA has also set a target to complete land acquisition by this year. After the completion of these 11 expressway projects by 2029, the total length of expressways in the state will increase from 1,910 kilometers to 3,200 kilometers.

Currently operational expressways in UP

• Yamuna Expressway: 165 km
• Agra-Lucknow Expressway: 302 km
• Purvanchal Expressway: 341 km
• Bundelkhand Expressway: 296 km
• Gorakhpur Link Expressway: 91 km
• Noida-Greater Noida Expressway: (25 km)
• Delhi-Meerut Expressway: (96 km)

(The total length of all these expressways is 1316 km.)

There are 453 underpasses and 795 culverts from Meerut to Prayagraj. To keep the speed of vehicles smooth on the Ganga Expressway being built from Meerut to Prayagraj, a large number of bridges and underpasses have been constructed.

The main structures of the expressway are as follows:

• Major bridges: 14
• Minor bridges: 165
• Flyovers: 32
• Railway Overbridges (ROBs): 07
• Vehicle underpasses: 453
• Culverts: 795
• Interchanges: 17
• Airstrip: 3.5 km long Public Facilitation Centre: 09
• Ramp Toll Plazas: 19
• Main Toll Plaza: 02 (Meerut and Prayagraj)

Read More: Another flyover will be built in Lucknow at a cost of Rs 108 crore, providing significant relief from traffic jams.