The Bundelkhand Expressway in Uttar Pradesh is nearing completion, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to inaugurate it in mid-July. Awanish Kumar Awasthi, Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) for Home and Chief Executive Officer of the Uttar Pradesh Expressway Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA), inspected the project’s progress in the Etawah district and directed the construction agencies to complete the remaining work within ten days.
The 296-km access-controlled expressway starts near Bharatkoop in the Chitrakoot district and merges with the Agra-Lucknow expressway near Kudrail village in Etawah. The expressway will pass through Chitrakoot, Banda, Mahoba, Hamirpur, Jaluan, Aurraiya, and Etawah districts.
The four-lane expressway (expandable to six lanes) has four railway over bridges, 14 large bridges, 266 small bridges, 18 flyovers, six toll plazas, and seven ramp plazas. To provide access to the villagers settled near the expressway, a service lane has been constructed, the officials said.
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As the Bundelkhand Expressway gets operational, the area will be linked with a fast and smooth traffic corridor with Delhi and National Capital Region through the Agra-Lucknow expressway and Yamuna expressway.
The expressway will give momentum to the development of the backward region of Bundelkhand while giving thrust to agriculture, commerce, tourism, and the industrial sector. The state government plans to develop an industrial corridor along the expressway to boost investment in the region.
Entrepreneurs can set up industrial training institutes, educational institutions, and medical institutes near the expressway. The ACS said it will also give a thrust to the handloom industry, food processing, dairy, storage, and traditional medium- and small-scale industrial units in the Bundelkhand region.
The major rivers of Bundelkhand, including Ken, Betwa, Yamuna, Bagen, Chandrawal, Birma, and Sengar, flow near the expressway. The scheduled completion date of the Bundelkhand Expressway project was 2023, but the expressway construction was completed in 27 months.
With inputs from IANS