Expressways in India: Upcoming Routes You Need to Know About!

With a growing population and a booming economy, India needs well-developed transportation systems for better connectivity among cities, villages, and industries. Among all modes of transport, roads handle the majority of passenger traffic and freight movement.

To meet the increasing demand for convenience and reduced travel time, upcoming expressways have become a cornerstone of India’s road infrastructure. These high-speed, access-controlled road developments are revolutionising the nation’s transportation landscape, invigorating regional economies, and elevating living standards across the country.

As we step into a new era of infrastructure, let’s explore how Indian express highways are transforming transportation and examine some of the most anticipated upcoming expressway routes.

Expressway Development in India

expressways in india

The process of building expressways in India began in the early 2000s with the construction of the Mumbai-Pune expressway, which paved the way for the rapid development of expressways in India. Since then, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), collectively with the state governments, has embarked on several programmes to expand the network of expressways.

In this context, the federal government’s flagship ‘Bharatmala Pariyojana,’ initiated in 2017, has been a game-changer in road development. This ambitious highway project in India focuses on improving connectivity to economic corridors, border areas, and remote regions.

Many new expressways in India are part of this program, which aims to ease congestion, reduce transportation costs, and boost the economy. The infrastructure boom in expressways in India has transformed the transportation landscape, delivering socio-economic and environmental benefits. 

Let’s delve into the advantages these state-of-the-art upcoming expressways offer:

  • Reduced travel time is one of the primary benefits of the construction of Indian expressways. India highway projects are engineered for high-speed travel, with better construction standards and controlled access. These features optimise routes and cut travel time, providing smoother journeys even for heavy traffic.
  • The expressway network seamlessly connects urban hubs, rural regions, industrial zones, and ports, fostering trade and economic growth and reducing transportation costs.
  • From a safety point of view, the Indian expressways have good and strong road surfaces and relevant signs to avoid frequent accidents. They also help reduce traffic on conventional corridors, resulting in easier travel for all involved parties.
  • Vehicles travelling on new roads maintain steady speeds, improving fuel efficiency. Green initiatives like tree plantations along medians and solar panel installations further reduce the ecological footprint.

Broadly speaking, expressways in India are not mere roads; they are conduits of progress that link cities, boost trade, and foster sustainable development. These India highway projects present long-term benefits, creating hubs of economic activity and development in less connected areas.

The transformative impact of these expressways also includes the potential to enhance tourism and regional connectivity, ensuring a well-rounded improvement in both the economy and social infrastructure. As new routes open, they will provide direct access to remote areas, boosting the development of previously underserved regions and making it easier for industries to expand their reach.

List of Upcoming Expressways in India

indian expressways

Here’s a comprehensive list of expressways in India that promise to redefine connectivity:

Dwarka Expressway

Dwarka Expressway, also known as Northern Peripheral Road (NPR), is one of the most important infrastructures in the National Capital Region (NCR) of India. This new express highway links Dwarka in Delhi with Gurugram in Haryana. It is seen as an important connectivity corridor by reducing traffic of vehicles that otherwise create congestion on existing high-traffic routes like the Delhi Gurugram Expressway (NH-48).

Key Details:

  • Length: Approximately 29 km
  • Route: Starts near Dwarka and merges at the Kherki Daula Toll Plaza in Gurgaon.
  • Lanes: Eight lanes that are under further expansion plans.

Different areas of this new express highway are already in use, while others are still being constructed due to land acquisition challenges. Upon completion, this upcoming expressway will ease travel and boost property development in surrounding areas.

Delhi-Mumbai Expressway

The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is among the largest upcoming expressway development projects in recent times. It is set to enhance transportation between Delhi, the largest city in India, and Mumbai, the country’s financial capital. When fully developed, it will be the longest expressway in India and provide a high-speed route, consequently shortening travel time tremendously.

Key Details:

  • Length: Approximately 1,386 km
  • Route: Links Delhi and Mumbai, passing through Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra.
  • Lanes: At the planning stage, it was planned as an eight-lane roadway, with the option of widening it to twelve lanes.

The current travel time from Delhi to Mumbai, over 24 hours, will be reduced to 12-14 hours. This is a phased highway project in India, and considerable parts of it are already in operation.

This is an under-construction highway, expected to be completed by 2024-2025. The upcoming expressway is also part of India’s green initiatives, with over 2 million trees planted along its route. Even the real estate estimates suggest that this expressway will lead to an increase in rental rates of industrial and office real estate in Mumbai by 20-25% and 15-20%, respectively.

Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway

The Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway, also known as the Hindu Hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg, is an express highway project in India whose primary objective is to enhance the connection between Mumbai and Nagpur and raise the economic development of the entire state.

Key Details:

  • Length: Approximately 701 km (one of the longest expressways in India)
  • Route: Links Mumbai (the money hub) to Nagpur (the second capital of the state) through 10 districts of Maharashtra.
  • Lanes: 6-lane expressway for current use and the possibility of increasing the capacity to 8 lanes in the future.

Major districts along this new road are Thane, Nashik, Ahmednagar, Aurangabad, Jalna, Washim, Akola, Amravati, and Nagpur. These districts are subconnected with other arterial roads and cities, such as the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and Golden Quadrilateral.

The first stage of the under-construction highway, spanning around 520 km, has already been launched and put into operation. The project is expected to be completed in its entirety by 2025. It will lead to an overall economic boom in connected areas as high tourism is expected because of better connectivity between Mumbai and Nagpur because of this expressway.

Not only tourism, the demand for properties will also show a surge in Mumbai leading to better real estate investment opportunities.

Ganga Expressway

The Uttar Pradesh government has planned and launched the Ganga Expressway to enhance the highway network and economic activity in the state. This upcoming expressway, named after the river Ganga, is expected to transform into one of the longest expressways in India.

Key Details:

  • Length: Approximately 594 km 
  • Route: Links Meerut in Western Uttar Pradesh to Prayagraj in Eastern Uttar Pradesh.
  • Lanes: A new 6-lane expressway is planned that will extend further in the future to 8 lanes.

The time taken to travel from Meerut to Prayagraj currently takes over 12 hours but is expected to drop to only 6-7 hours. The upcoming expressway connects 12 districts, including Meerut, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Amroha, Sambhal, Budaun, Shahjahanpur, Hardoi, Unnao, Raebareli, Pratapgarh, and Prayagraj.

The foundational launch of the India highway project was done by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, in December 2021, and completion is expected by the end of 2025.

Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway

The Delhi-Amritsar-Katra expressway is one of the new expressways in India. This project is envisaged to boost the transport link between Delhi, Punjab, and Jammu & Kashmir. This expressway is being developed as part of the Government of India’s Bharatmala Pariyojana program, which aims to develop tourism and trade in northern India in general.

Key Details:

  • Length: Approximately 550 km
  • Route: Links Delhi to Amritsar (Punjab) and Katra (Jammu & Kashmir).
  • Lanes: 4-lane access-controlled expressway, provision for future widening up to 6 lanes.

The key cities along the route are Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Amritsar. In Jammu & Kashmir, the route reaches Katra, the base town for the Vaishno Devi shrine. It will make the travelling time from Delhi to Amritsar 4-4.5 hours (currently, it takes 7-9 hours) and from Delhi to Katra 6-6.5 hours (around 11-12 hours now). 

Banglore-Chennai Expressway

The Bangalore-Chennai Expressway (BCE) is one of the most significant infrastructure projects intended to promote transportation between two large cities: Bangalore, in Karnataka, and Chennai, in Tamil Nadu. This new expressway in India is intended to provide quicker means of transport, relieve load on existing arteries, and encourage economic exchange between the two cities.

Key Details:

  • Length: Approximately 260 km  
  • Route: Links Hoskote near Bangalore to Sriperumbudur near Chennai.  
  • Lanes: 4-lane access-controlled expressway with provision of a 6-lane facility.  

The time taken to travel from Bangalore to Chennai or vice versa will drop from 6-7 hours to 2.5-3 hours. Major cities along the route will be Kolar, Chittoor, and Sriperumbudur. 

This upcoming expressway will strengthen the exports of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh. The project is underway in three phases and is progressing steadily, albeit at a moderate pace.

Narmada Expressway

The Narmada Expressway is a planned large infrastructure project in the state of Madhya Pradesh that is intended to further network and development. It will extend alongside the Narmada River, connecting major cities and boosting the economy of central India.

Key Details:

  • Length: Approximately 1,300 km  
  • Route: Intended to link Amarkantak in eastern Madhya Pradesh to Alirajpur in western Madhya Pradesh, passing through the width of Narmada.
  • Lanes: Initially planned as a 4-lane expressway but can be extended to 6 lanes.

It is located in Madhya Pradesh, but it may connect with other expressways or national highways to boost connectivity. Key cities along the route are Jabalpur, Hoshangabad (Narmadapuram), Khandwa, Barwani, and Mandla.

The new express highway is in the planning stage, and a detailed project report is being developed. The Madhya Pradesh government is aggressively seeking funds and clearances under the Bharatmala Pariyojana for this upcoming expressway.

Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway

The Lucknow–Kanpur Expressway aims to link two of the biggest cities of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow and Kanpur, by using a faster and more efficient road link. It has been postulated that travel time will be greatly cut down, in addition to enhancing the economic potential of the expressway.

Key Details:

  • Length: Approximately 63 km (one of the shortest expressways in India)
  • Route: Directly links Lucknow (state capital) to Kanpur (industrial city).
  • Lanes: 6-lane expressway, extendable up to 8 lanes.

This new expressway in India is expected to reduce travel time from over an hour to just 35-40 minutes. The project is still an under-construction highway, though the work is going on as planned.

The construction phases are in progress, and land acquisition processes have also been accomplished. It is hoped that it will be completed by 2025. It is connected with the Purvanchal Expressway and Ganga Expressway, offering smooth connectivity to the future Bundelkhand Expressway along with the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway through Kanpur.

Gorakhpur-Shamli Expressway

The Gorakhpur-Shamli Expressway is a planned infrastructure project in Uttar Pradesh. It will link the eastern region of Uttar Pradesh, Gorakhpur, with the western region of Uttar Pradesh, Shamli. Once completed, it will be one of the longest expressways in India, cutting down travel times and promoting economic growth.

Key Details:

  • Length: Approximately 600 km
  • Route: Links east Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur with west Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli, running through different districts such as Deoria, Azamgarh, Jaunpur, and Pratapgarh.
  • Lanes: Proposed as a 4-lane expressway.

The project is in the identification and conceptual stage, with the detailed project report (DPR) under preparation. It is expected that the construction of the expressway will be completed by 2027, provided the approvals and funding are made on time.

Amas–Darbhanga Expressway

The Amas–Darbhanga Expressway is an essential upcoming expressway in Bihar that seeks to improve the transport interconnectivity within Bihar, connecting south Bihar to North Bihar. This under-construction highway will also be part of Bihar’s rolling plan and augment the connectivity between the northern regions of the state and other regions in India and even Nepal.

Key Details:

  • Length: Approximately 191 km
  • Route: Links Amas in the Gaya district in southern Bihar with Darbhanga in northern Bihar.
  • Lanes: Proposed as a 4-lane carriageway with provision for extension to 6 lane highway in India.

The new express highway is expected to be ready by 2026, provided that approvals are issued on time and construction is duly effective. It facilitates integration among the major cities of Bihar, Gaya, and Darbhanga, and it also provides access to Nepal from northern Bihar for better business and tourism involvement.

Faridabad-Jewar Airport Expressway

The Faridabad-Jewar Airport expressway will offer a corridor connecting Faridabad city in Haryana with the new Noida International Airport at Jewar in Uttar Pradesh. This upcoming expressway is one of the many contributions to improving regional infrastructure and linking it to the new international airport.

Key Details:

  • Length: Approximately 31 km
  • Route: Links Faridabad to Jewar Airport and enables commuters to experience shorter travel time between the two important destinations.
  • Lanes: Proposed as a four-lane expressway which could be expanded to six lanes.

Land acquisition processes for this new expressway in India are ongoing, and the project is expected to be completed by 2026. 

Bottom Line

The expressway system in India is gearing up and is in its fastest growth phase, which shows that a new connecting system and economic revolution have started. Future expressways with sophisticated design and technology integration are expected to transform the country’s baseline highway infrastructure system.

expressways in india

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between an expressway and a highway?

An expressway is a high-speed road with controlled access for speed and safety. Meanwhile, highways may have an at-grade, lower speed limit, and availability for local road access.

What roles do expressways play in the economic growth of India?

Indian expressways improve accessibility, conserve time, lower transportation expenses, and develop economic growth through trade, tourism, and industry.

Do we have tolls on all our expressways?

Many expressways in India are toll roads. The toll paid by citizens finances the maintenance of the road and recovers the construction cost.

In what way does the government promote safety on expressways?

Security measures are being maintained through access control, smart traffic control systems, proper traffic surveillance through video surveillance systems, and the condition of the infrastructure.

What role is played by technology in expressway management?

Technology is as much a part of the road system as it is of airways. Technological applications like auto-tolling systems, traffic monitoring, and emergency facilities guarantee the safe functioning of expressways.