India boasts a comprehensive network of expressways totaling 5,930 kilometers, with construction work underway to extend this network to over 11,000 kilometers more, significantly improving journeys across long distances. Within this vast network, there are 12 National Expressways, notably the longest stretch connecting Delhi and Mumbai, along with 32 State Expressways both operational and in the works. Uttar Pradesh stands out with six expressways operational and an additional seven currently under construction, ranking it as the state with the most expressways at 13.
Expressways in India are distinguished as superior versions of highways, featuring controlled access points to prevent accidents and unnecessary delays to the flow of fast-moving traffic.
This article aims to provide our readers with insights into the top 10 expressways in India and their significance.
Delhi Mumbai Expressway
The Delhi Mumbai Expressway, spanning over 577 km out of a total of 1,450 km, is a pivotal achievement in India's highway network, designed to shorten the travel time from Delhi to Mumbai from 24 to 12 hours. This expressway's roots were planted by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari in 2019, with the ambition to improve the road linkages between these two key cities: Delhi, the heart of national governance, and Mumbai, the economic powerhouse.
The modern Delhi Mumbai Expressway is poised to become fully accessible to vehicles soon, as the construction process is nearly complete on the rest of the expressway. This expressway stands as the longest in the country and will provide essential amenities along the way to make the journey more comfortable and convenient, including facilities, restrooms, restaurants, and shops.
Covering a distance of 1,450 km, it will travel through Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Maharashtra states before it reaches its final destination. The expressway will be an 8-lane highway initially, with the potential for expansion to 12 lanes in the future.
Purvanchal Expressway
Purvanchal Expressway starts from the Gosaiganj near Lucknow and ends near Muhammadabad in Ghazipur, terminating its road infrastructure magnificence of 340 km. In Gosaiganj, this expressway quits into NH731 and in Ghazipur, the journey on the Purvanchal Expressway ends on NH31. It is an entirely functioning and one of the fastest expressways in India, furnishing speedy and secure vehicular movement to the capital city Lucknow of India's most populated state from its low-key districts such as Sultanpur, Azamgarh, Ghazipur, Mau and Balia.
The construction of the Purvanchal Expressway was initiated in 2018 and was concluded in November 2021. It is the longest expressway in Uttar Pradesh that is active. The six-lane access-controlled motorway can be extended to 8 lanes in future and is materialised and preserved by the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA). Its foundation stone was laid down in 2015 state's former CM Mr Akhilesh Yadav, and, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi upon its culmination in 2021.
Yamuna Expressway
The Yamuna Expressway, launched in 2012 by UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, significantly cut travel time from Greater Noida to Agra by 65%, linking various districts in Western Uttar Pradesh to Delhi and the National Capital Region. Operated by YEIDA, this expressway stretches 165.567 km, worth more than Rs 22,000 crores, and sees over 100,000 vehicles daily, reducing congestion on NH2 or Mathura Road.
Looking ahead, the six-lane Yamuna Expressway could potentially be widened to eight lanes, enhancing connectivity between cities like Noida, Jewar, Vrindavan, Hathras, Mathura, and Agra.
In India, the Yamuna Expressway ranks sixth in terms of length among expressways, boasting 31 service roads for safe and secure access to key locations along its route.
In 2015, a Dassault Mirage 2000 made an emergency landing on the Yamuna Expressway to test its suitability for fighter jets to land on highways.
Delhi Meerut Expressway
Delhi Meerut Expressway is one of the most busiest and is officially the widest expressway in India, having 14 lanes stretching up to Dasna. The need for the Delhi Meerut Expressway was first mentioned in 1999 in the parliament and was proposed officially in 2005. Delhi Meerut expressway in India was completed in 2021 with the inauguration of the Dasna to Meerut Package and it was built by the central government.
The total estimated cost of building this 96km road infrastructure project was between Rs 8,000 to 10,000 crores, divided into four packages.
Mumbai Pune Expressway
The Mumbai Pune expressway sees over 50,000 vehicles passing through daily, ranking it among the top expressways in the country for traffic engagement. Completed in 2001, this 94-kilometer road connects the two major cities in Maharashtra, Mumbai and Pune. Its beauty enhances the journey, with stunning views of the landscape as it stretches from the vibrant metropolis of Mumbai to the cultural heart of Pune.
Pune is a cultural hub of Maharashtra, while Mumbai has been recognized as the financial capital of the nation. This has made the connection between these two key economic centers in Maharashtra state equally important, with the ability to maintain a vehicle speed of up to 100 kilometers per hour.
The Mumbai Pune expressway stands out as one of the most picturesque expressways in India, weaving through hills and passing through cities like Panvel, Khandala, Lonavala, Talegaon, among others. This road is managed by the MSRDC (Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation).
Eastern Peripheral Expressway
Eastern Peripheral Expressway is built to ease the traffic on the Ghaziabad-Faridabad stretch and reduce the entry of over 50,000 trucks reducing the heavy vehicular pollution significantly in the national capital. In length, the Eastern Peripheral or KGP (Kundli-Ghaziabad-Palwal) expressway is 135 kilometres and is connected to the Western Peripheral Expressway on both sides, forming a ring road around the Delhi Metro City to ease the congestion by vehicles that are meant to skip the Delhi City and other major hotspots such as Gurgaon, Noida and Faridabad.
The EPE road infrastructure project’s foundation was laid down by the prime minister of India Narendra Modi in 2015 and was estimated to be built at around 11,000 crores in Indian Rupees. In 2018, the 135 km expressway in India was inaugurated and it is lashed with several state-of-the-art security and safety features such as electronic & closed tolling systems, weigh-in-motion sensors, cameras to check vehicles' speed, 4,000 kilowatts solar capacity plants, lakhs of trees plantation etc.
Western Peripheral Expressway
WPE Expressway stands as one of the leading expressways in the country, featuring six lanes and extending a total distance of 136 km. This highly anticipated transportation project was officially opened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The construction of this western edge expressway, also referred to as the KMP (Kundli-Manesar-Palwal) expressway, links Kundli in Sonipat to Palwal. The expressway traverses through Sonipat, Jhajjar, Manesar, Sohna, and Palwal.
Additionally, there are plans for a Delhi Metro line to run along its path, as part of the DMRC phase V expansion.
The entire expressway became accessible to the public in 2018, following the completion of its sections in the same year. This controlled access peripheral expressway ranks among the top ten in the country and is a component of the Delhi Rig Road initiative, designed to alleviate Delhi and its surrounding areas from excessive traffic and reduce the heavy carbon emissions that contribute to the air quality issues in the Delhi NCR area.
Ahmedabad Vadodara Expressway
Ahmedabad Vadodara Expressway is a 94 km long road infrastructure, also known as Mahatma Gandhi Road, and connects the two biggest cities in the Gujarat state, Ahmedabad and Vadodara, helping business activities. This expressway was opened for public use in 2002 and is an access-controlled expressway. Although the expressway has only 2 lanes on each of the sides, the construction work to extend it to 6 lanes has been going on for several years.It is maintained by NHAI and was built at an estimated cost of 475 crores in 2002. Two-wheeler entry is banned on this expressway to prevent unwarranted road accidents. Among the top fastest expressways in India, the Ahmedabad Vadodara Expressway goes through Nadiad and Anand cities along the route.
Bundelkhand Expressway
The Bundelkhand Expressway, a road that stretches for 296 kilometers and is managed with access restrictions, was officially opened in 2022 by the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. This expressway, which was a project under consideration since 2017, serves to enhance connectivity by providing faster and more efficient transportation between the northern and southern parts of India's most densely populated state.
Several districts have been directly linked to this expressway, including Etawah, Jalaun, Hamiprur, Mahoba, Banda, and Chitrakoot. Its completion was celebrated as one of India's longest and most significant expressways, attracting considerable media attention.
The Uttar Pradesh Expressway Development Authority (UPEIDA) is tasked with the upkeep of this expressway, and the construction of this modern infrastructure has incurred a cost of over Rs 14,000 crores.
Mumbai Nagpur Expressway
Mumbai Nagpur Expressway is an under-construction project in Maharashtra state and is to be maintained by MDRDC. This 6-lane expressway can be expanded to 8 lanes in future and is access-controlled for safe and secure vehicle movements. It in total covers 10 districts of Maharashtra: Nagpur, Wardha, Amravati, Washim, Budhana, Jalna, Chattrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Ahmednagar, Nashik and Thane.
This is one of the top 10 expressways in India and also one of the longest as well, having a length of 701 km in total, offering high-speed driving experience on its access-controlled 6-lane roads.
The aforementioned districts that the Mumbai Nagpur Expressway, officially known as Hindu Hridaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Sammrusddhi Road, covers will benefit from the elevation of business activities.
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