World’s Longest Expressway from Delhi to Mumbai nears completion: Here are the key developments
The 1,350 km long (8-12 lane) expressway project will be completed by 2023.
The new 1,350 km long Delhi to Mumbai Greenfield Expressway (also being dubbed as world’s longest Expressway) which will be crossing 4 states end to end in record 13 hours is set to break quite a few records for India.
The project in order to ensure a safe passage to wildlife and to reduce human-animal conflict through the expressway will have some of the country’s first-ever animal overpasses throughout the project and fencing to keep animals safe.
Union Minister of Road Transport & Safety Nitin Gadkari said the Centre will get revenues worth Rs 1,000-Rs 1,500 crores every month from the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway when it becomes operational in 2023. He also described the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the autonomous agency of the government which manages national highways in India, as a “goldmine” for generating income.
Gadkari also added that NHAI which is spearheading the road infrastructure drive in the country to rake in Rs 1.40 lakh crore in the next five years from Rs 40,000 crore currently.
With the world moving on from conventional fuels to alternative sources of energy for powering transport, electricity is currently the most popular choice for powering motors of propulsion in vehicles.
The electric highway will see vehicles powered by electricity ply on the stretch – the first of these will be between Delhi to Jaipur; and later, if everything goes well, the Delhi-Mumbai stretch may see another of these electric highways.
According to Union minister Nitin Gadkari, electric vehicles are not just limited to small road vehicles. Buses, trucks, and railway engines may also eventually be powered by electricity. The minister said that it was his dream to build an electric highway and the project which is under proposal stage is looking for international players and firms that have this technology.
According to Gadkari, the project will get over by March 2022 and the endpoint of the expressway will be Mumbai’s Nariman Point.
