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The state government has taken a historic decision towards expanding the expressway network in Uttar Pradesh and giving new heights to religious tourism. The proposal to extend the much-awaited Ganga Expressway to Haridwar (Uttarakhand) has been formally approved in the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
The construction of this ambitious greenfield project will have an estimated cost of approximately ₹10,761 crore. After the completion of this expansion, the country’s two largest Kumbh Nagars situated on the banks of Ganga—Prayagraj and Haridwar—will be directly connected to each other through a modern, high-speed and access-controlled expressway corridor.
130 km long 6-lane greenfield corridor: What is the nature of the project?
As per the action plan approved by the Cabinet, the total length of this extension of Ganga Expressway will be approximately 130 kilometers Will happen.
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Geographical division of the route: About 100 km of this 130 km long route will fall in Uttar Pradesh and the remaining 30 km will fall in the border of Uttarakhand state.
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6-lane to 8-lane expansion capability: This expressway will initially be a 6-lane greenfield expressway, which can be easily upgraded to 8-lane in future as the traffic density increases.
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UP-Uttarakhand MoU: A formal memorandum of understanding (MoU) will soon be signed between the governments of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand for the construction and coordination of the inter-state portion of the project.
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100% state funded: The Uttar Pradesh government itself will bear the entire financial burden of ₹10,761 crore on this project; The central government has no direct financial stake in this. Toll revenue received from the expressway will also be collected by the UP government.
Travel from Bijnor to Haridwar and Lucknow will be superfast
At present, to go to Haridwar from Bijnor district bordering Uttarakhand, passengers and goods vehicles mainly have to depend on the mixed traffic and congestion of National Highway-34 (Meerut-Bijnor-Haridwar NH-34).
With the expansion of Ganga Expressway, not only will the travel time from Bijnor to Haridwar be reduced to half, but Bijnor will also be directly connected to the state capital Lucknow through high-speed network through Ganga Expressway. This will give a huge impetus to industrial investment, faster transportation of agricultural products, logistics hubs and regional trade in the districts of Western Uttar Pradesh.
A direct ‘Spiritual Expressway’ will be built between the two holy Kumbh cities.
In the Sanatan tradition, the religious and cultural importance of Prayagraj (Triveni Sangam) and Haridwar (Har Ki Pauri) is paramount. During Kumbh, Mahakumbh, Ardh Kumbh, Kanwar Yatra and on normal days, lakhs of devotees travel between these two pilgrimage sites.
Till now, to go from Prayagraj to Haridwar, devotees had to pass through many different state highways and national highways, due to which they had to face long time and traffic jams. With the Ganga Expressway directly reaching Haridwar, an uninterrupted and safe corridor will be created between the two holy cities. Devotees will be able to complete the journey from Prayagraj to Haridwar in a few hours without any traffic interruption.
New flight to religious tourism, local economy and employment
The implementation of this mega infrastructure project will see massive economic and social changes in the border areas of Western Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand:
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Tourism and Hospitality Sector: There will be record investment in hotels, resorts, wellness centers and tourism based businesses in Haridwar, Rishikesh, Bijnor, Garhmukteshwar and surrounding areas.
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Direct and indirect employment: From the construction phase of the expressway till its operation, thousands of local youth will get employment opportunities in engineering, construction, logistics and way-side amenities.
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Benefits to farmers: It will become easy and economical for the farmers of Bijnor, Amroha, Sambhal and Muzaffarnagar to transport their fruits, vegetables, food grains and jaggery-sugar to the national mandis and markets of Uttarakhand.
DPR and outline for further construction
After getting the formal green signal from the Yogi Cabinet, Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) has intensified the preparation of the detailed project report (DPR) of the project and the process of land acquisition.
The aim of the government is to complete the DPR, tendering and alignment survey of this greenfield link and start the construction work in record time, so that the expressway network of Uttar Pradesh can be established as the most modern religious and economic corridor of the country in a timely manner.