The under-construction Delhi Saharanpur Dehradun Expressway is a part of Bharatmala Pariyojana that will connect Delhi's Akshardham to Dehradun in Uttarakhand in less than three hours. To facilitate traffic flow, the project will go through three States, including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. The Delhi-Dehradun Expressway is an access-controlled highway passing through several cities, including Ghaziabad, Baghpat, Shamli, and Saharanpur. The 210-mile route will considerably shorten the trip from Delhi to Dehradun, cutting the distance and travel time from seven hours to a little under three. Additionally, the highway development and infrastructure developments to support the highway are likely to boost the real estate markets nestled along the stretch.
Project overview of Delhi Dehradun Expressway -
The project was approved by the central government in early 2020, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the project's foundation stone on December 4, 2021. The project is being managed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), which is also responsible for selecting construction contractors.
The project is scheduled to be finished by December 2024, with an initial projected cost of Rs 13,000 crore. The expressway will cater to approximately 20,000-30,000 Passenger Car Units (PCUs) per day, with a minimum driving speed of 100 km per hour. Current status of the highway is that In January 2022, tenders have been invited for connecting Shamli-Ambala Expressway.
The Delhi-Dehradun Expressway will be developed in four phases -
Phase - 1: Akshardham (Delhi) to Baghpat (Uttar Pradesh) -
Its Alignment -
The Delhi-Dehradun Expressway, which is being built in two phases and is 32 kilometres long, is now in Phase 1.
Package 1 will extend from Akshardham to the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border, covering a distance of around 15 kilometres in total. The elevated section will be 6.4 kilometres long and run from Geeta Colony to Khajoori Khas.
From the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border to the Eastern Peripheral Expressway, Package 2 will cover roughly 17 kilometres (EPE). Around 11 kilometres of the section will feature an elevated belt.
There would be roughly 12 lanes in this Brownfield improvement of the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway. Of these, six lanes each will be express and local lanes.
Phase 2: Baghpat to Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh) -
Its Alignment -
The 118 km-long Phase 2 of the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway is currently under construction. The Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE) and Saharanpur Bypass will be connected by this section of the highway, which would be a six-lane Greenfield development. There are four different packages for the phase:
Package 1 will be 27 km-long stretching from Eastern Peripheral Expressway to Lohadda Village.
Package 2 will span from Lohadda Village to Karaunda Mahajan Village and will cover a distance of nearly 30 km.
Package 3 will be constructed between Karaunda Mahajan Village and Khyawari village, spanning over 25 km.
Package 4 will be the last leg of the phase comprising a total development of nearly 37 km between Khyawari Village and Saharanpur Bypass.
Phase 3: Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh) to Ganeshpur (Uttarakhand) -
Its Alignment -
This phase will start in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur Bypass and link to Ganeshpur (near Sunderpur) in Uttarakhand through Biharigarh.
There will be six lanes along this 40 km segment. Brownfield development will be involved, along with improving the existing road network and construction of service lanes and underpasses.
Phase 4: Ganeshpur (Uttarakhand) to Dehradun (Uttarakhand) -
Its Alignment -
The Daat Kali Devi Tunnel would connect Ganeshpur and Dehradun on the last section of the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway. The Phase 4 route will pass through Rajaji Tiger Reserve and Shivalik Hills, a sizable forest region that surrounds the tunnel.
It will be about 20 km long and have six lanes. The first six kilometres of the roadway will be upgraded, while the final three kilometres will be newly constructed, including a five-kilometre elevated section.
Current status and development of Delhi Dehradun Expressway:
According to media sources, the final 20 km crosses through the environmentally sensitive zone of Raja Ji National Park has been built, according to Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari. In addition, a tunnel will be constructed here to protect the local wildlife. The lengthiest elevated wildlife corridor in Asia will be this one. Once the project is up and running, the distance between Delhi and Dehradun will only take about three hours to travel.
The Delhi-Dehradun Expressway will have a 50–60 km long spur (branch of a highway) that will connect Roorkee and Haridwar.
As the entryway to many other Uttarakhand hill towns, Haridwar serves as a significant place of religious pilgrimage. Haridwar serves as a major hub for travellers heading to the "Chardham" pilgrimage circuit, which includes the shrines at Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath.
The National Highway (NH) 58 now connects Delhi to Haridwar, passing through the cities of Ghaziabad, Modinagar, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, and Roorkee. All year long, there is a lot of traffic on the four-lane NH 58. The highway spur is therefore essential to speed up transportation services between Delhi real estate and Roorkee and to reduce traffic on NH 58 between Delhi and Haridwar. The project will also result in the growth of warehousing in Roorkee.
The spur will start at the Baghpat-Saharanpur highway portion close to Halgoya Village in Uttar Pradesh, travel through Roorkee's northern part, and then merge with NH 334 close to Badheri Village. The spur will likely cost Rs 1,240 crore to develop.