Giving more push to big ticket infrastructure projects, Uttar Pradesh government is fast tracking the construction of the 354 km long Purvanchal Expressway project, reports Financial Express.
The expressway, one of the longest in the country, links the eastern and western far reaches of the state –Chand Sarai of Lucknow district with Haidaria in Ghazipur district, while connecting nine districts of the state.
Varanasi is also linked with a separate link road. Connecting the NCR to the expressway are Agra-Greater Noida Yamuna Expressway and 302 km long Agra-Lucknow expressway.
The foundation stone for the project was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year. While Akhilesh Yadav had also laid a foundation stone in December 2016, even half of the land acquisition for the project was not done by then.
After the change of government, a new tender was floated, scrapping the old one, citing lack of land availability.
Apart from reducing the travel time by 4-5 hours , the other benefits of the expressway include keeping a check on city pollution, saving fuel, reduced chances of accidents and more. The expressway is expandable to eight lanes and provides massive scope for development alongside it.