PM Modi inaugurates first stretch of Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, 246-km-long Sohna-Dausa section now open

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 246 km Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot stretch of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway in Rajasthan’s Dausa on Sunday. He said the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway and the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor are going to become two strong pillars of progress for Rajasthan and the country. "These projects are going to change the picture of this entire region including Rajasthan in the coming times. For the last 9 years, the central govt is continuously making huge investments in infrastructure," he added.

During an address in Rajasthan’s Dausa on Sunday PM Modi said the Centre has been making many investments in infrastructure. “In this budget, we have made a provision of 10 lakh crores for infrastructure and it is 5 times more as compared to 2014,” he said.

He said the new highway will also benefit many tourist places such as the Sariska Tiger Reserve, Keoladeo and Ranthambore National Park, Jaipur and Ajmer. "Rajasthan has already been attractive for tourists from the country and abroad, now its attraction will increase further," he said.

Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, Union MoS V K Singh, Union minister Gajendra Singh, and other leaders were present on the stage at the function.

It is anticipated that this portion of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway would drastically reduce travel time, particularly from the capital to Jaipur, from 5 hours to around 3.5 hours.

The Delhi-Dausa section was built at a cost of more than Rs 12,150 crore, and once it is open, it would not only shorten travel times but also significantly enhance the local economy. Additionally, the stretch would boost communication between Gurugram, Nuh, Palwal, and other communities while easing traffic on the Delhi-Jaipur highway.

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About the Delhi-Mumbai expressway

With a length of 1,386 km, the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway (DME) would be the longest highway in India. It will reduce the travel distance between Delhi and Mumbai from 1,424 km to 1,242 km and cut travel time by a whopping 50 per cent from 24 hours to 12 hours.

It would connect important towns like Kota, Indore, Jaipur, Bhopal, Vadodara, and Surat while travelling through six states: Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra. 93 PM Gati Shakti Economic Nodes, 13 Ports, 8 major airports, 8 multi-modal logistics parks (MMLPs), and spurs to new, planned Greenfield airports like Jewar Airport and Navi Mumbai Airport would all be served by the highway.

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Facts you didn't know about this Expressway

This highway is the first in Asia and India to provide underpasses and overpasses for animals. The alignment has been made to lessen the effect on the Ranthambore Wildlife Sanctuary.

According to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, the construction of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway would need over 4,000 skilled civil engineers and require the use of 25,000 million tonnes of bitumen. About 12 lakh tonnes of steel—the equivalent of 50 Howrah Bridges—will be used in the construction. Ten billion man-days will be employed by the project.

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It will be an eight-lane, access-controlled Greenfield Expressway, but it is being built with future needs in mind. Up to 12 more lanes can be added to the motorway. To offer connection to Kota, Indore, Jaipur, Bhopal, Vadodara, and Surat, the DME would include more than 40 interchanges.

Additionally, two world records were established while the roadway was being built. The first one was for the most PQC that was laid in a 24-hour period, while the second was for the most dense bitumen that was poured in a 100-hour period.

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