According to Nitin Gadkari, the physical progress of the work is 82 percent complete and a total length of 1,136 km has been constructed.

Delhi-Mumbai Expressway: In good news for Delhi-Mumbai commuters, the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, India's longest greenfield expressway, will be completed by October 2025, according to information tabled in Parliament on Wednesday. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said the ministry has taken up the construction of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway with spurs in 53 packages of 1,386 km length.

“By June 2024, a total of 26 packages have been completed,” Gadkari said.

According to him, the physical progress of the work is 82 percent complete and a total length of 1,136 km has been constructed.

“The revised scheduled completion date is October, 2025,” he said. The corridor provides connectivity to major financial centers of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

According to the Detailed Project Report (DPR), the result includes reduction of distance from Delhi to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), Mumbai by about 180 km and reduction of travel time to connected destinations by up to 50 per cent. Replying to a separate question, Gadkari said that by June 30, 2024, a total of 983 user fee plazas are operational on national highways.

Traffic has been restricted on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway

Police on Sunday said they have imposed traffic restrictions and beefed up security on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, a day after a car hit some virgins walking on the road.

“Arrangements have been made to prevent entry of vehicles from Modinagar's Kadrabad village to every entry point in Ghaziabad district to Meerut Road trisection, Mohan Nagar, Loni Road, Link Road, UP-Delhi border to Dilshad Bagh,” it said. Ghaziabad Police Commissioner Ajay Kumar Mishra.

“To ensure this traffic plan, the civic and traffic police will maintain extra vigilance. At the exit point of mixed population, volunteers from civic organizations in the area will assist the police and inform about any untoward activities in the area,” said Mishra.

On Saturday, angry virgins who were allegedly hit by a car dragged the driver out of the vehicle and beat him up. They also allegedly damaged the car. The car owner, Naubahar Singh (40, native of Muradnagar) was also in the car when the incident took place. The driver was drunk and driving the car on the wrong side, Mishra said.

The kanwaris later created chaos by blocking the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, leading to traffic jams.

(with input from agencies)