₹11,000 Cr Highway Projects Launched – How Will Modi’s Move Change India’s Roads?

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated two major national highway projects worth nearly ₹11,000 crore on Sunday, aimed at decongesting Delhi and improving connectivity across the National Capital Region (NCR).

The two key projects include:

1. Delhi Section of Dwarka Expressway

Length: 10.1 km

Cost: Around ₹5,360 crore

Features: Multi-modal connectivity to Yashobhoomi Convention Centre, Delhi Metro’s Blue & Orange Lines, Bijwasan railway station, and Dwarka Cluster Bus Depot.

Segment: 5.9 km from Shiv Murti intersection to Road Under Bridge (Dwarka Sector 21) and 4.2 km from Dwarka Sector 21 to Delhi-Haryana border.

Note: The 19-km Haryana section of the Dwarka Expressway was inaugurated by PM Modi in March 2024.

2. Urban Extension Road-II (UER-II)

Stretch: Alipur to Dichaon Kalan, with new links to Bahadurgarh and Sonepat

Cost: Around ₹5,580 crore

Benefits:

Eases traffic on Delhi’s Inner and Outer Ring Roads

Reduces congestion at Mukarba Chowk, Dhaula Kuan, and NH-09

Direct access to Bahadurgarh and Sonepat, improves industrial connectivity, and speeds up goods movement in NCR.

These inaugurations are expected to cut travel time, reduce traffic congestion, and allow Delhi to breathe easier.

According to TomTom, a Dutch geolocation firm:

Average travel time per km in Delhi: 21 minutes 40 seconds

Congestion level: 24%

Average speed: 27.7 km/h

Traffic jams on Aug 16: 67, covering 25 km