Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Haryana section of the much-awaited Dwarka Expressway in Gurugram on Monday. The eight-lane high-speed expressway is India's first elevated highway, and is expected to help improve traffic flow and ease congestion between Delhi and Gurugram.

The Haryana section includes two packages -- from the Delhi-Haryana border to Basai ROB (10.2 km) and from Basai ROB to Kherki Daula (Cloverleaf Interchange) (8.7 km).

The 19-km-long section has been built at a cost of around Rs 4,100 crore.

FEATURES OF THE DWARKA EXPRESSWAY

• The expressway is the country’s first elevated urban expressway and the first single-pillar flyover with eight lanes. The entire stretch is being built at a cost of about Rs 9,000 crore.

• About 19 kilometres of the expressway stretch fall in Haryana while the remaining 10 kilometres are in Delhi.

• The high-speed expressway begins from Shiv-Murti on the Delhi-Gurugram Expressway, and ends near the Kherki Daula Toll Plaza, passing through Dwarka Sector 21 in Delhi, Gurugram border, and Basai.

• It will have four multi-level interchanges, such as tunnels or underpasses, an at-grade road section, an elevated flyover, and a flyover above flyover.

• The 9-kilometre-long, 34-metre-wide elevated road of eight lanes on a single pillar is the first of its kind in the country.

• The stretch also consists of the longest (3.6 kilometres) and widest (eight-lane) urban road tunnel in India.

• Once completed, it will also provide direct access to the upcoming India International Convention Centre (IICC) in Dwarka Sector 25 in Delhi.

• The expressway will be an alternate connection to the Indira Gandhi International Airport through a shallow tunnel.

• It connects Dwarka Sectors – 88, 83, 84, 99, 113 with Sector-21 along with the proposed Global City in Gurugram district.

• The expressway has sophisticated safety mechanisms, and toll collection will be completely automated, and the entire project will be equipped with an Efficient Transport System (ITS).

• The construction has been scheduled in four stages. First, in the Delhi region from Shiv Murti in Mahipalpur to Bijwasan (5.9 km), second from Bijwasan ROB to Delhi-Haryana border in Gurugram (4.2 km), third in the Haryana region from Delhi-Haryana border to Basai ROB (10.2 km), and fourth from Basai ROB to Kherki Daula (Cloverleaf Interchange) (8.7 km).

• For the total construction, it is estimated to consume 2 lakh MT of steel (30 times the steel used in the Eiffel Tower) and 20 lakh cubic metres of concrete (6 times the concrete used in the Burj Khalifa).

Source: India Today