Top 10 Expressways In India You Should Know About

• Delhi – Meerut Expressway is India’s widest expressway with 14-Lanes and it is 96 km long
• Purvanchal Expressway is the longest expressway in India which has a length of 340.8 km

How good a road can be? Expressways are the best class of roads in India. In India there are many expressways, some are completed while some are still under construction. Here we’ll take a look at the top 10 expressways in India. Major investment in construction of expressways comes from the Central Government.

Mumbai and Uttar Pradesh are the only states which are building their own expressways through dedicated corporations. The construction and maintenance of expressways in India are under the National Expressways Authority Of India. Till now this government organisation has constructed many expressways. So let’s take a look at top 10 of them.

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Purvanchal Expressway – India’s Longest Expressway

Which is the longest expressway in India? It is Purvanchal Expressway with 340.8 km length in Uttar Pradesh. It is a 6-lane expressway which is expandable up to 8-lane. For emergency landing of aircraft it has 3.2 km long airstrip. On 10 October 2018 the construction was started and on 16 November 2021 it was inaugurated by PM Modi.

₹22,500 crore is the estimated cost of Purvanchal Expressway. It passes through 9 districts of Uttar Pradesh and connects Lucknow district to Ghazipur district. Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) constructed this expressway.

Delhi – Meerut Expressway – India’s Widest Expressway

With 14-lanes, the Delhi – Meerut Expressway is India’s widest expressway. It is 82 km long and as the name suggest it connects Delhi to Meerut via Dasna and Ghaziabad. 40% of the project cost is funded by the National Highway Authority Of India (NHAI) while the total estimated cost of this expressway is ₹8,346 crore.

This expressway cuts travel time from Delhi to Meerut to just 45 minutes. Earlier it was 2.5 hours. The construction of this expressway was divided into four packages and there was separate bidding for each package. The Delhi – Meerut expressway has 10 flyovers, 95 underpasses and 15 subways. In its 82 km length only 60 km part is expressway and 22 km part is national highway.

DND Flyway – India’s First 8-Lane Wide High-Speed Expressway

DND Flyway or Delhi – Noida Direct Flyway is India’s first 8-lane wide high-speed expressway. It has a length of 9.2 km and connects Maharani Bagh and Nizamuddin to Noida and Mayur Vihar. In January 2001, this expressway was opened to public by then UP CM Rajnath Singh.

NTBCL (Noida Toll Bridge Company Ltd) manages this expressway. It is the first indian toll company to be listed on National Stock Exchange. The company was incorporated for the sole purpose of managing the DND Flyway.

Mumbai – Pune Expressway – India’s First 6 Lane Wide Expressway

Officially known as Yashwantrao Chavan Expressway, the Mumbai – Pune expressway is one of the most important expressways in India. It is 94.5 km long and as the name suggest it connects Mumbai to Pune city. In 2002, this expressway became fully operational. Maharshtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) constructed this expressway at a cost of $200 million.

Six tunnels with total length of 5.7 km are part of the Mumbai – Pune expressway. Early estimates showed the estimated cost of $140 million but it went to $200 million. More than 50,000 vehicles cross this expressway on daily basis. It is designed to handle about 100,000 vehicles a day. It is one of the busiest expressways in India.

Yamuna Expressway – India’s 3rd Longest Expressway

To reduce the travel time between Delhi and Agra, the Yamuna Expressway was constructed. In 2008, the Taj Expressway name was dropped for the present Yamuna Expressway name. This expressway has a length of about 165 km and it became operational from 9 August 2012 after inauguration by then UP CM Akhilesh Yadav.

₹12,839 crore is the construction cost of Yamuna Expressway. In a first in India, on 21 May 2015, the Indian Airforce landed Dassault Mirage 2000 on Yamuna Expressway. This 6 lane expressway can be converted into 8 lane expressway. It has 35 underpasses and about 42 minor bridges.

Samruddhi Mahamarg

One of the most expensive expressways in India still under construction is the Samruddhi Mahamarg. It is officially known as Hindu Hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg. It connects Mumbai to Nagpur so you can call it Mumbai – Nagpur expressway too. The estimated cost of this project is ₹55,000 crore.

It is 701 km long and so the construction has been divided into 16 packages. For each package there will be a seperate bidding. It is interesting to note that 13 different contractors were awarded for the construction of this expressway. Some big name includes L&T, Afcons Infrastructure, Reliance Infrastructure etc. MSRDC has led the project development which is the infrastructure arm of Maharashtra.

Delhi – Mumbai Expressway

The most expensive expressway in India will be the Delhi – Mumbai expressway. The estimated cost of this project is ₹100,000 crore which is highest in India. Upon completion in March 2023, the Delhi – Mumbai expressway will be the longest and busiest expressway in India. It is 1,350 km long which is highest in India.

In Delhi to Mumbai it passes through Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. Out of 1,350 km, 426 km part of this expressway lies in Gujarat itself. Initially the expressway will be of 8-lane, depending on traffic government may extended it. It will be the first expressway in India to have wildlife crossing of 2.5 km. Considering how big the project is, it is divided into 52 packages with 8 km to 46 km length for each package.

Bangalore – Chennai Expressway – First Expressway In South India

Which is the first expressway in the South India? It is the Bangalore – Chennai expressway which is under construction. This 4-lane expressway is 258 km long and is expandable to 8-lane. It will connect the capital of Bangalore to the capital of Tamil Nadu. Estimated cost of this project is ₹18,000 crore.

NHAI is handling the construction of this expressway and has divided this project into 10 packages. 6 different companies will construct this expressway. Among the top 10 expressways in India, it is the only expressway dedicated to the southern part of the country.

Delhi – Dehradun Expressway – First Highway In India With Wildlife Protection Corridor

To connect Delhi to Dehradun via Saharanpur this expressway is being built. It will have a length of 210 km and will consist of 6-lanes. It can be expanded up to 8-lanes too. After construction this expressway will reduce the travel time from 6.5 hours to 2.5 hours.

This expressway will get the first highway in India with wildlife protection corridor of 12 km length. It will be the Asia’s longest wildlife corridor that will allow seamless and unrestricted movement of wildlife under it.

Amritsar – Jamnagar Expressway – An Expressway To Connect 3 Big Oil Refineries In India

One of the longest expressways in the list of top 10 expressways India is the Amritsar – Jamnagar expressway. This expressway will connect the three big oil refineries in India – RIL Jamnagar, HPCL Barmer and HMEL Bathinda. It is 1,257 km long and consist of 4 to 6 lanes. 50% part of this expressway lies in Rajasthan of about 637 km.

Upon completion, the expressway will reduce the distance between Amritsar and Jamnagar to 1,316 km from 1,430 km earlier. Travel time will also be halved from 26 hours to 13 hours only. This expressway will pass through 4 states – Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab and Gujarat. It is divided into 30 packages and costs around ₹80,000 crore.

So These Were Top 10 Expressways In India.