Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is set to introduce certain features seldom seen in road construction in India. There will also be a dedicated three metre wide corridor for laying utility lines including fibre optic cables, pipelines as well as solar power generation.
Provisions for wildlife conservation
A crucial feature of the project will be its provisions for “wildlife conservation”. The expressway is the first in Asia and only the second in the world to feature animal overpasses and underpasses to facilitate unrestricted movement of wildlife. Furthermore, the expressway has been aligned in a way to minimise destruction of protected forests.
Two iconic 8-lane tunnels will also be built, one through Mukundra sanctuary without disturbing the endangered fauna in the region and the second through the Matheran eco-sensitive zone.
A 3 ft tall boundary wall and sound barriers will also be constructed in sections prone to wildlife.
Haryana
More than 160 km stretch of the expressway which passes through Haryana is being built at a cost of Rs 10,400 crore. “This corridor will improve connectivity in Nuh and Palwal through multiple interchanges to connect the expressway with major highways like KMP and DND Sohna. To address the serious problem of air pollution and traffic congestion in Delhi-NCR, the ministry is undertaking 15 projects worth Rs 53,000 crore, of which 14 projects have been initiated. This expressway will lead to a reduction of 27 per cent in vehicular pollution in Delhi,” Gadkari said in 2021.
At least 73 villages in this region will benefit from this stretch.
Rajasthan
Of the total expressway, 374 km passes through the state of Rajasthan and the section is being built at a total capital cost of more than 16,600 crores.
The corridor will pass through the districts of Alwar, Bharatpur, Dausa, Sawai Madhopur, Tonk, Bundi and Kota. Multiple bridges are being built across the rivers of the state like Banganga river, Banas river, Mezriver and Chambal river. An 1,100-m long elevated stretch has been planned across the Chakan Dam which will be an engineering marvel.
Madhya Pradesh
The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will pass through Madhya Pradesh (nearly 250km) and is being constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 8,500 crore.
According to officials, the eight-lane Delhi-Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway would pass through western MP covering 102.4 km area stretch in Mandsaur, 90.1 km in Ratlam and 52 km in Jhabual.
Gujarat
As a part of the expressway project, 60 major bridges, 17 interchanges, 17 flyovers and eight road over bridges (ROBs) will be built in Gujarat. 33 wayside amenities are also proposed to be build on this expressway to provide world-class transport facilities as well as generate employment opportunities in the state.