Dwarka expressway to be operational by 2023: Gadkari

Minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari said on Monday that the 29km-long Dwarka Expressway, being built at a cost of Rs 9,000 crore, will be operational in 2023 and will ease traffic congestion on Delhi-Gurugram Expressway.

The minister said the highway, connecting Dwarka in Delhi to Gurugram in Haryana, will immensely reduce the level of air pollution in Delhi-NCR, apart from reducing pressure on the Delhi-Gurugram expressway, part of the Delhi-Jaipur-Ahmedabad-Mumbai arm of Golden Quadrilateral.

The Dwarka Expressway is being developed as the first elevated urban expressway in the country. It is a 16-lane access-controlled expressway with provision of a minimum three-lane service road on both sides.

“Once the Dwarka Expressway is completed, it would provide direct access to upcoming India International Convention Centre in Sector 25 of Dwarka and will also provide an alternate connectivity to IGI Airport through shallow tunnel,” the minister said.

The expressway will play a pivotal role in the plan to decongest the capital. It will also involve a massive feat of transplanting 12,000 trees. The project is estimated to consume two lakh tonne of steel for its construction.