Work on loop to connect Yamuna Expressway with Eastern Peripheral Expressway delayed

The work on a cloverleaf interchange loop that, once completed, would have seamlessly connected Yamuna Expressway with the Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE) has

The work on a cloverleaf interchange loop that, once completed, would have seamlessly connected Yamuna Expressway with the Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE) has been delayed for want of land.

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The loop is to be built on 57 hectares and the land for the project was to be given by Yamuna Expressway Development Authority (Yeida) and Jaypee Infratech Limited (JIL). There has been a delay as the debt-ridden developer company is being taken over by the state owned NBCC Limited following a Supreme Court order. The Yeida was to provide 22 hectares and JIL the remaining land, said officials.

The loop is a crucial project as it would also provide direct connectivity from the upcoming Jewar airport to Delhi-NCR via the EPE.

In the absence of the loop, the motorists from Noida, Greater Noida and Delhi face inconvenience in reaching Eastern Peripheral Expressway as they have to travel through many congested villages such as Kasna and Ghangola. This loop will immensely benefit motorists and offer smooth ride to thousands of commuters, who use 165km Yamuna Expressway and EPE.

The Yeida was scheduled to start work on the loop, to be built at a cost of ₹83.94 crore, by July 2019. The authority, in June 2019, had issued a tender and hired a contractor for the project. It had fixed deadline of 18 months for the project from the day the work starts on the ground. But work did not start at the site as JIL is yet to hand over the land for the project.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), which has built the 135km EPE, could not construct the loop earlier because of land issues. The NHAI will fund the project and Yeida will construct the entry and exit to connect two important expressways. The EPE passes above the 165km Yamuna Expressway, near the Noida International University and Galgotia University campus.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on May 31, 2018, opened the 135km Eastern Peripheral Expressway with an aim to decongest Delhi roads and reduce air pollution caused due to vehicular emissions.

The NHAI had constructed the EPE on the periphery of Delhi-NCR. A 22km stretch of the 135km expressway falls in Gautam Budh Nagar, passing through 39 villages in the district. However, for the past one year, commuters have to go through Kasna to reach the EPE and Kasna often witnesses heavy traffic congestion.