Govt to garland UP with a string of expressways

Lucknow: As Purvanchal expressway is set to complete by the year-end, the Yogi government is drawing up a roadmap to start work on Ganga expressway, connecting eastern UP with the national capital via the western region, garlanding the state with a string of e-ways.
Talking to TOI, Awanish Awasthi, chief executive officer, UPEIDA, said that efforts are on to lay the foundation stone of Gangaexpressway around Diwali this year.This would be the longest expressway in UP and the second longest in the country, next only to the Samruddhi expressway of Nagpur, he said and added that when the second phase of Ganga expressway from Prayagraj toBalia would start it would become the longest e-way in the country.
Awasthi, who reviewed the project at a meeting held here on Friday, said that the Ganga expressway would be the first project on the north of the Ganga as it would go along all major industrial cities of western UP. The map of Ganga e-way has been finalised and UPEIDA has also got a traffic survey report which clearly states that the proposed e-way would have more traffic in comparison to Lucknow-Agra expressway and Purvanchal expressway and would become a potential revenue source for the state.
“Before the lockdown the traffic flow on the Lucknow-Agra e-way was around 42,000 vehicles per day. Purvanchal e-way is going to have traffic flow of around 50,000 vehicles per day and the proposed 603-km Ganga expressway from Prayagraj toMeerut would have double the traffic flow of these two expressways combine,” Awasthi said. He, however, declined to reveal exact figures as he said that this is only the projection. The UPEIDA CEO said that after chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s clearance, the project would face no paucity of funds and the off road work is already in full swing.
If the Lucknow-Agra expressway and the Purvanchal expressway are going to change the socio-economic condition of the central and eastern parts of the state, the greenfield expressway, which would connect the eastern and central UP with its western part and then finally with the national capital via
Meerut-Delhi expressway, would create immense opportunities for people of western and central regions of the state.
“With the Ganga expressway also turning into reality soon, UP will be garlanded with a string of expressways. It would also revolutionise the state’s economy,” Awasthi said adding that “even during the first step of land acquisition farmers would be benefited with huge compensation.” As the state is already credited with Agra and Purvanchal e-ways, the third and the longest e-way of the state is seen as a major step for boosting UP's economy by having an excellent connectivity with the national capital, offering a smooth access to state traders to national and international markets.