Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India inaugurated the two highways  namely, Delhi Meerut and Eastern Peripheral today in Delhi NCR Region today. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also held huge roadshow, after the first phase inauguration of Delhi -meerut expressway, much crowd were present to get a glimpse of Prime Minister at the expressway. Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister was also present on the occasion. The roadshow started from Nizamuddin Bridge and after 6 km travel on the stretch the Prime Minister went to Baghpat to inaugurate the country’s first green and smart highway, the Eastern Peripheral Expressway. Below are the glimpse of both the major expressway:
1) Delhi-Meerut Expressway
•Delhi-Meerut Expressway is the first national highway in country with 14 lanes.
•Expressway stretch 8.360 kmsCompleted the record time of 18 months (expected 30 months) at a cost of about Rs 841.50 crore.Total length of first phase project is 82 km. 27.74 km will be 14-laned , and rest will be 6-lane expressway.It includes 4*4 Service Lane and 6-lane expressway. 
•Nizamuddin Bridge to UP Border, UP to Dasna, Dasna to Hapur and Hapur to Meerut.
•Help reduce pollution.It includes a vertical garden on Yamuna Bridge, a 2.5 metre wide cycle track on either side of highway, watering of plants through drip irrigation only and solar lighting system.
•Dedicated bicycle track of Delhi-Meerut Expressway has stretch Delhi and Dasna on the nearly 28 km and will cut travel time Delhi and meerut to 45 mins from two and half hour now.
•Aim is to provide safer and faster connectivity between Meerut and Delhi and beyond this, with Uttrakhand and UP.
•It involves construction of 11 interchanges/flyovers, 24 minor and 5 major bridges,  3 Rail over bridges, 14 pedestrian underpasses, 36 vehicular.
•Automated challans system installed and it will be generated for flouting traffic norms along with video detection system.
2) Eastern Peripheral Expressway
•Eastern Peripheral Expressway is nation’s first ever green and smart highway with rain water harvesting and solar power provisions.
•Connect NH-1 and NH-2 from eastern and western  side of Delhi i.e, Sonipat to Palwal  through Baghpat, Gautam Bush Nagar, Ghaziabad and Faridabad.
•Main objective is decongesting and depolluting the national captial by diverting the traffic not destined for Delhi.
•Acquired cost of about Rs. 5900 crore, construction cost is RS. 4617.87 crore , built at a cost of Rs. 11000 crore and a total of 1700 hectares of land used.
•Scheduled target is of 910 days to complete this project, but it is completed in a record time of about 500 days.
•The expressway has 4 major and 46 minor bridges, fully access-controlled 6 lane expressway, 221 underpasses, 8 Rail over bridges, 3 flyovers, 7 interchanges.
•Electronic Toll Collection system is there in EPE.
Nitin Gadhkari said that Eastern Peripheral Expressway will completed by next march and then we can able to travel Delhi to Meerut just in 40 mins.
Road Construction is the priority of Modi’s government. In October, the government approved the Bharatmala Project which is RS. 6.92 lakh crore which includes development of highways through border, economic corridors, coastal areas and Expressways. The Bharatmala program, 24,800 km has a completion deadline of 2022 and it will definitely help of increasing demand for everything from steel to cement and also the economy by generating jobs.
Written by Jyotsna Bhasin