The 82-km phase 2 and 4 of the Delhi-Meerut Expressway (DME) has been opened for the public from today (April 1). The expressway will make life easier for those travelling between the two cities by cutting the travel time from two hours to about 50 minutes.
After a week of being opened, the authority will not charge users either till the Union ministry of road transport and highway approves the rates.
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Remember that phase 1 of the Delhi-Meerut Expressway from Akshardham to UP Gate (14-km) and phase 3 from Dasna to Hapur (22-km) are already operational. The 19-km phase 2 of the expressway linking UP Gate and Dasna, the 32-km-long phase 4 linking Dasna and Meerut will also be operational now. The phase 1 was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May 2018.
The Delhi-Meerut Expressway is India’s first 14-lane highway will reduce travel time between Delhi and Meerut to 50 minutes.
The Delhi section was completed in record 18 months at the cost of Rs 842 crore. The expressway is lit by solar power and it also has a 2.5 meter wide cycle track and 2 metre wide footpath.
It also has a hanging garden with drip irrigation on Yamuna bridges. There are five flyovers, four underpasses and four footover bridges along the highway.
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The phase 4 for the expressway project is an access-controlled six-lane expressway and the work on all 55 underpasses along its length has been completed. In phase 2, work on 17 out of 18 underpasses was completed. NHAI officials said the remaining underpass near ABES College will be opened in another week.
This expressway will provide 14 lanes connectivity under phase 1 and 2 while six-lane expressway starts from Dasna under phase 4. The 14 lanes comprise of three expressway lanes each side while the four outer lanes each side are highway lanes. NHAI has installed about 5,000 streetlights on all four phases of the expressway for illumination.
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The National Highway Authority of India has also set speed limits for travellers using the expressway. In phase 1, the maximum permissible speed limit is 70 kmph and in the remaining three phases, the speed limit is 100 kmph.
The total project cost, the NHAI funded 40 per cent under the new ‘Hybrid Annuity Model’ and the remaining portion was arranged by the concessionaire by way of mix of debt/equity of 48:12.