Phase-1 of Delhi-Dehradun highway may open by March 2024 to ease traffic

NHAI officials said the work on the stretch is more than 50% work complete on the highway to Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

Thousands of commuters travelling between Delhi and western Uttar Pradesh will get relief from snarls and congestion as the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is likely to open the 31.6km stretch of Delhi-Dehradun highway from Akshardham to Baghpat before March 2024.

The first phase will also pass through Ghaziabad’s congested Loni town, that also sees traffic to Saharanpur (HT Photo)

NHAI officials said the work on the stretch is more than 50% work complete on the highway to Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

The six-lane highway is 180km long and phase 1 of the highway, from Akshardham to Baghpat’s Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE) interchange, which spans about 31.6km, will be the first to open.

The first phase comprises of two packages – package 1 from Akshardham to Khekra in Baghpat (14.75km) and package 2 from Khekra to EPE interchange in Baghpat (16.45km).

Read: Delhi-Dehradun expressway to be completed by December

The first phase will also pass through Ghaziabad’s congested Loni town, that also sees traffic to Saharanpur.

“The work on the six-lane (three each side) highway is over 50% complete in phase 1 and it is likely to open to commuters before March 2024. This will help passengers avoid traffic congestion as there is an elevated section with service roads on the ground level,” said an NHAI officer,asking not to be named.

Phase 1 has an elevated section of about 18km as it passes through densely populated areas of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. According to officials, the stretch in Delhi has about six kilometres of elevated section while the remaining 12.5km will be under the jurisdiction of Uttar Pradesh.

The commuters currently take about five to six hours to travel from Delhi to Dehradun, which is a distance of about 240km. Once the new highway is operational, this travel time will reduce to about two-and-half hours, said NHAI officials.

Read: Delhi- Dehradun 2 hrs, Haridwar in a blink with this new expressway: Details

“The highway also has a toll in Ghaziabad’s Loni and that will be made operational once the first phase is opened. It will be the only toll in phase 1, between Akshardham and EPE interchange in Baghpat,” the official added.

Earlier in January, the Ghaziabad Development Authority had proposed to link its 20km long Northern Peripheral Road, connecting NH-9 to Loni, to the Delhi-Dehradun highway stretch in Loni. But these plans have not materialised as yet, said officials aware of the matter.