New highway to link city to Noida airport: Gadkari

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari inspected the DND-Faridabad-Sohna highway, a key project enhancing Delhi-NCR connectivity and access to Noida Airport.

New Delhi: Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday inspected the DND-Faridabad-Sohna access-controlled highway, a key corridor aimed at improving connectivity across Delhi-NCR and providing access to the upcoming Noida International Airport.

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari along with Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta during the inspection of the Delhi–Mumbai Expressway stretch from DND Maharani Bagh to Jaitpur. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta, Union ministers of state Ajay Tamta, Harsh Malhotra and Krishan Pal Gurjar, Delhi PWD minister Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma, Haryana PWD minister Ranbir Singh Gangwa, South Delhi MP Ramvir Singh Bidhuri and former MP Ramesh Bidhuri attended the inspection.

Developed under the Bharatmala Pariyojana, the 59.063km stretch is being built at an estimated cost of ₹4,463 crore. The six-lane highway is designed to connect Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Gurugram and Sohna through a high-speed road network linked to the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway and the proposed Jewar airport.

Speaking to media after the inspection, Gadkari said the project would significantly improve NCR connectivity while reducing traffic pressure on Delhi roads.

“This corridor will connect Delhi, Faridabad, Gurugram, Noida and Sohna through a high-speed access-controlled network and provide direct connectivity to the Noida International Airport and the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway,” Gadkari said.

He added that the project was part of a broader infrastructure push in the NCR aimed at improving mobility, logistics and regional economic growth.

Officials said the project incorporates several advanced engineering features, including a 140-metre-long Network Arch Bridge (NAB), described as one of the most advanced steel bridge structures being built in the country. The bridge uses tied-arch technology with a crossed hanger arrangement aimed at improving structural durability and seismic resilience.

The project also uses precast segmental construction technology, launching girders, removable temporary steel pile supports over irrigation canals, high-strength E450 steel, Grade 10.9 bolts, high-damping rubber bearings and swivel expansion joints, officials said.

According to the ministry of road transport and highways, nearly 200,000 metric tonnes of inert material generated through bio-mining of the Okhla and Ghazipur landfill sites in Delhi has been used in the project, reducing dependence on natural borrow material. The corridor will also include landscaping, plantation work and noise barriers.

The ministry also shared details of another connectivity project linking the DND–Faridabad Bypass with the Noida International Airport. The 31.425km fully access-controlled greenfield expressway, estimated to cost ₹2,360 crore, is being constructed from Chandawali village in Faridabad to near Dayanapur in Gautam Buddh Nagar district.

The project will connect the Yamuna Expressway, the Eastern Peripheral Expressway and the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, enabling traffic from northern India to access the airport without entering Delhi. Officials said the project would also provide direct airport access for commuters travelling from South Delhi, Faridabad and Gurugram.

The corridor includes four major interchanges at the DND–Sohna Highway, Eastern Peripheral Expressway, Yamuna Expressway and DFCC crossing, along with a rail overbridge. An elevated corridor and an eight-lane ROB at the DFCCIL crossing have also been proposed.

CM Rekha Gupta said the Centre’s infrastructure expansion in Delhi-NCR would help address long-standing traffic and pollution challenges in the capital.

“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Centre has been continuously working towards building modern and world-class infrastructure in Delhi. These projects will help improve traffic flow and regional connectivity,” Gupta said.

She said projects worth ₹1.31 lakh crore had already been sanctioned in the NCR over the past 12 years, and the total value of completed, ongoing and proposed infrastructure projects had now reached nearly ₹1.6 lakh crore.

During the briefing, Gadkari also announced several upcoming road projects linked to Delhi. These include a ₹3,500 crore six-lane project connecting Urban Extension Road-II with the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway across 17km, with work expected to start by the end of this year. A ₹7,500 crore Noida-Faridabad high-speed corridor is also being developed as an extension of UER-II to decongest Kalindi Kunj, Sarai Kale Khan and the Outer Ring Road.

A connectivity project linked to the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra route over 17km is being developed at a cost of ₹1,500 crore per lane, with the detailed project report expected to be ready in three months. A ₹7,000 crore tunnel project from Shiv Murti to Nelson Mandela Marg is awaiting cabinet approval, and a ₹5,000 crore elevated corridor from AIIMS to Mahipalpur-Gurugram is also in the works.

Gadkari further said other planned projects include the Kalindi Kunj interchange and flyover, the Ashram-Badarpur six-lane corridor, signal-free connectivity from the Haryana-Delhi border to Punjabi Bagh, and a six-lane corridor from Mehrauli to the Delhi-Haryana border.

Once completed, officials said the DND-Faridabad-Sohna corridor and associated airport connectivity projects are expected to reduce travel time, improve freight movement and strengthen transport infrastructure across the NCR.