Uttar Pradesh will soon get its sixth expressway which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 16. The 296 km long Bundelkhand Expressway which stretches between Chitrakoot and Etawah has been completed eight months ahead of schedule.
Laying the foundation stone in February 2020, Prime Minister Modi said that the project will “create thousands of jobs and connect common people with facilities available in big cities.”
Uttar Pradesh is becoming an express area
With the construction of the expressway, the path of development of the Bundelkhand region will be…@CMOfficeUP @UPGovt @AwasthiAwanishK @NandiGuptaBJP @_investup @investindia @chitrakootDM @District Etawah @DM_Jalaun pic.twitter.com/w7lvbme4PA— UPEIDA (@upeidaofficial) 12 July 2022
about the project
The expressway starts near Bharatkup in Chitrakoot district and merges with the Agra-Lucknow Expressway near Kudrail village in Etawah district.
It includes the seven districts of Chitrakoot, Banda, Mahoba, Hamirpur, Jalaun, Auraiya and Etawah. The road has crossings on several rivers: Bagan, Ken, Shyama, Chandawal, Birma, Yamuna, Betwa and Sengar.
The four-lane expressway developed by the Uttar Pradesh Expressway Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) has scope for expansion to six lanes in future. It has 13 interchange points.
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project cost
According to officials, the total cost of the project has been estimated to be around Rs 15,000 crore. However, the Yogi Adityanath government has saved around Rs 1,132 crore by opting for e-tendering.
How will this expressway boost regional connectivity?
The project is expected to boost connectivity and boost economic activities in the state.
A senior official said that Bundelkhand, considered one of the most backward areas of the country, will be directly connected to the national capital through the Agra-Lucknow Expressway and Yamuna Expressway.
The Bundelkhand Expressway is expected to reduce the travel time between Delhi and Chitrakoot to just six hours from the earlier 9-10 hours. Bundelkhand Expressway is also crucial for the success of the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Defense Corridor project.
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Work has also started on an industrial corridor in Banda and Jalaun districts. The Rs 20,000 crore defense corridor project has been planned for over 5,071 hectares in the western, central and Bundelkhand regions of the state.
Of the 13 expressways spread over 3,200 km in the state, six are operational while work is on in seven. Industrial corridors are being built along highways and expressways. The airstrips are being prepared for emergency use by the Air Force.
“Even two expressways were not completed in Uttar Pradesh in the first 70 years since independence. With a series of expressways including the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, the present government of double engine development in the state has fulfilled the decades-old demand of NCR. (National Capital Region) and people of western Uttar Pradesh,” Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said.
(With inputs from IANS)