Prime Minister Narendra Modi On July 16, he will inaugurate the 296-km-long Bundelkhand Expressway in Uttar Pradesh.
The expressway spanning between Chitrakoot and Etawah has been completed eight months ahead of schedule.
Laying the foundation stone in February 2020, Prime Minister Modi had said that the project would “create thousands of jobs and connect common people with facilities available in big cities”.
According to an official spokesperson, the expressway starts from Bharatkup in Chitrakoot district and joins Agra-Lucknow Expressway near Kudrail village in Etawah district.
It covers the seven districts of Chitrakoot, Banda, Mahoba, Hamirpur, Jalaun, Aurraiya and Etawah.
The length of the road is crossing over several rivers: Bagan, Ken, Shyama, Chandawal, Burma, Yamuna, Betwa and Sengar.
The four-lane expressway developed by the Uttar Pradesh Expressway Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) has scope for expansion to six lanes in future. It has 13 interchange points.
According to officials, the total cost of the project has been estimated to be around Rs 15,000 crore. However, the Yogi Adityanath government has saved around Rs 1,132 crore by opting for e-tendering.
The project is expected to boost connectivity and boost economic activities in the state.
“Bundelkhand, which is considered one of the most backward regions of the country, is directly connected to the national capital through the Agra-Lucknow Expressway and Yamuna Expressway,” a senior official said.
The Bundelkhand Expressway is expected to reduce the travel time between Delhi and Chitrakoot to just six hours from the earlier 9-10 hours.
Bundelkhand Expressway is also crucial for the success of the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Defense Corridor project.
Work has also started on an industrial corridor in Banda and Jalaun districts. A Rs 20,000-crore defense corridor project has been planned in 5,071 hectares in the western, central and Bundelkhand regions of the state.
Of the 13 expressways spread over 3,200 km in the state, six are operational while work is on in seven.
Industrial corridors are being built along highways and expressways. The airstrips are being prepared for emergency use by the Air Force.
“Even two expressways were not completed in Uttar Pradesh in the first 70 years after independence. With a series of expressways including the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, the present government of double engine development in the state has fulfilled the decades-old demand of the people of NCR (National Capital Region) and western Uttar Pradesh,” Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said.
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