Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Delhi-Mumbai Expressway

Mains level: Road infrastructure

delhi

Photos of the soon-to-be-inaugurated Delhi-Mumbai Expressway have gone viral, receiving widespread appreciation online.

Delhi-Mumbai Expressway

The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is a proposed 1380 km expressway that will link the capital city of Delhi to Mumbai, India.
The expressway is being planned as a six-lane expressway and will pass through the states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Started in 2018, the project is set to be completed by the end of 2023.
The expressway is expected to reduce the travel time between Delhi and Mumbai by up to 12 hours.
The expressway will also have several rest stops and will be equipped with advanced technology such as electronic toll collection, smart traffic management and surveillance systems.
The expressway will be built in a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.

Some basic details

The expressway is being constructed with an initial budget of INR 98,000 crore.
According to claims by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, it will reduce the distance between Delhi and Mumbai by 180 km (from 1424 km to 1242 km).
Depending on the volume of traffic the expressway sees, there are plans in place to expand it to a 12-lane expressway in the future.
The reduction in distance and travel time is set to result in annual fuel savings of more than 320 million litres and reduce CO2 emissions by 850 million kg.

Importantly, the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is set to introduce certain features seldom seen in road construction in India.
According to claims from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, the expressway will boast of a state-of-art traffic management system.
There will also be a dedicated three metre wide corridor for laying utility lines including fibre optic cables, pipelines as well as solar power generation.
The expressway will also have provisions for rain water harvesting at intervals of 500 m, with over 2000+ water recharge points.

A crucial feature of the project will be its provisions for “wildlife conservation”.
The expressway is the first in Asia and only the second in the world to feature animal overpasses and underpasses to facilitate unrestricted movement of wildlife.
Furthermore, the expressway has been aligned in a way to minimize the destruction of protected forests.
Two iconic 8-lane tunnels will also be built, one through Mukundra sanctuary without disturbing the endangered fauna in the region and the second through the Matheran eco-sensitive zone.
A 3 ft tall boundary wall and sound barriers will also be constructed in sections prone to wildlife.