Bharat Progress Report: India’s 1st Elevated Highway, The Dwarka Expressway Was Inaugurated

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Haryana section of the Dwarka Expressway on March 11, a major milestone in improving connectivity between Delhi and Gurugram. The expressway spans a total length of 29 kilometers, with 18.9 kilometers in Haryana and the remaining 10.1 kilometers in Delhi.

Notably, it is India’s first elevated 8-lane, access-controlled urban expressway, with the elevated section stretching 9 kilometers in length and 34 meters in width. The expressway will provide seamless connectivity between the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in Delhi and the Gurugram Bypass, significantly easing traffic congestion in the area.

This project, which cost around ₹9,000 crore, is part of the larger ₹60,000 crore highway development initiative aimed at decongesting Delhi and improving the National Capital Region’s (NCR) infrastructure.

The Delhi section of the expressway includes an 8-lane, 3.6-kilometer tunnel near the airport, which is designed to handle heavy traffic of up to 40,000 vehicles daily.

The tunnel also features blast-proof sections to mitigate security risks and prevent interference with airport radar systems. Emergency exits and a specialized control room are part of the design to ensure smooth operations.

The Haryana section of the expressway was built at a cost of ₹4,100 crore and includes two key segments: a 10.2-kilometer stretch from the Delhi-Haryana border to the Basai Rail-over-Bridge (ROB), and an 8.7-kilometer section from Basai ROB to the Kherki Daula interchange.

The entire project is being developed in four phases, with the first phase extending from Shiv Murti in Mahipalpur to Bijwasan, followed by further segments reaching the Delhi-Haryana border and beyond. The foundation stone for the expressway was laid in March 2019 by the late Union Ministers Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, and Nitin Gadkari. Once completed, the Dwarka Expressway is set to transform travel in the NCR by improving traffic flow and reducing travel time significantly.