Delhi-Dehradun Expressway to open for public in next 10-15 days: Gadkari

New Delhi: The Delhi-Dehradun expressway, which will reduce travel time between the two cities to two hours from the existing 6.5 hours, will be open for public in the next 10-15 days, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday.

Responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha, the road transport and highways minister said he has sought time from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the inauguration of the 212-kilometre 6-lane access controlled expressway.

"In the next 10-15 days, the Delhi-Dehradun expressway will be open for traffic," Gadkari said.

The expressway is expected to reduce travel time between the two cities to two hours and has been built at a cost of Rs 12,000 crore.

Divided into four sections, this expressway is constructed starting from Delhi-Mumbai Expressway(DME) near Akshardham in Delhi, Shastri Park, Khajuri Khas, EPE interchange at Khekra in Mandola, Baghpat, Shamli, Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh to Dehradun, Uttrakhand.

Many special provisions have been made in the construction of the entire corridor. The route from Ganeshpur to Dehradun has been kept safe for wildlife.

There is a provision of 12-km elevated road, 6 animal underpasses, 2 elephant underpasses, 2 major bridges and 13 minor bridges.

The project was approved in 2020. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation of the expressway in December 2021.