Pumping Energy Into India's Arterial Roads

India is moving ahead with a pan-nation scheme to improve the road network to bridge critical infrastructure gaps through corridor-based development. A timely completion can give a solid foundation for the ushering in of a better India.

- Shreya Bhattacharya

In November 2018, India’s industrial and logistics sector got a boost, when it was reported that the acquisition of land in Haryana for the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway was complete. While the acquisition of land in other states namely Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra is ongoing, the news at least hinted that the project is on fast track.

Many are in the waiting as an arduous 24-hour journey will come down to only 12 hours, when the expressway is opened for traffic. The eight-lane expressway between the two metropolitan cities will reduce the existing distance of 1,450 km by road to about 1,250 km and will be a signal-free stretch.

K Satyanarayana, co-founder and director of Ecom Express says, “One of the most eagerly awaited highway projects is the Mumbai-Delhi Expressway which could cut logistics charges by bypassing the two largest and most populous cities in India. Touted as one of the busiest lanes in South Asia, the bottleneck surrounding the corridor needs to be replaced by a steady pace of development thus, enhancing the execution speed.”

Satyanarayana goes on to add that the project will also boost investments, manufacturing, the job market and growth.

The eight-lane road crossing through Sohna in Gurugram will link the Western Peripheral Expressway (WPE) with the DND flyway (Delhi Noida Direct Flyway) in Delhi. Earlier in November 2018, the opening of the WPE gave the traffic and pollution-choked national capital, an opportunity to decongest itself by diverting heavy traffic that passes through Delhi but is bound for other parts of the country, through its third ring road. The first leg of the project, the Eastern Peripheral Expressway, was opened earlier in July. This expressway has been completed almost 15 years after it was first conceived.