Nitin Gadkari reviews progress of Delhi-Mumbai Expressway worth Rs. 98,000 crores

New Delhi, September 16: Union Road Transport and Highways Minister, Nitin Gadkari is to review progress of Delhi-Mumbai Expressway (DME) on September 16-17 which will cover Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.

The statement said that, being developed at a cost of Rs. 98,000 crores, the 1,380-km-long Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is to be the longest expressway in India. It will help enhance connectivity between National Capital, Delhi and Financial Capital, Mumbai.

The expressway will connect the urban centres of Delhi through the Delhi-Faridabad-Sohna section of corridor along with Jewar Airport and Jawaharlal Nehru Port to Mumbai through a spur in Mumbai.

The statement added that the expressway passing through the 6 states of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra will improve connectivity to economic hubs like Jaipur, Kishangarh, Ajmer, Kota, Chittorgarh, Udaipur, Bhopal, Ujjain, Indore, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Surat. This will bring economic prosperity to many.

This Expressway commenced in 2018 with the foundation stone being laid on March 9, 2019. Out of the 1,380 kms, contracts for more than 1,200 km have been awarded already.

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This new expressway is expected to halve the commute time between Delhi and Mumbai from nearly 24 hours to 12 hours, shortening the distance by 130 km. This will also generate annual fuel savings of more than 320 million litres, reduce CO2 emissions by 850 million kgs. This is equivalent to planting of 40 million trees.

This expressway is the first in Asia (only the second in the world) to feature animal overpasses to facilitate unrestricted movement of wildlife. The DME will have 3 animal and 5 overpasses with a combined length of 7 km dedicated to unencumbered wildlife movement.

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The expressway will also include two 8 lane tunnels, one through Mukundra sanctuary without disturbing the endangered fauna in region for 4 kms and the second 4 km 8-lane-tunnel passing through Matheran eco-sensitive zone.