The Ganga Expressway, currently under construction, is a major infrastructural project in Uttar Pradesh, set to be completed before the Kumbh Mela in 2025. The Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) is spearheading the project, which aims to connect western and eastern UP efficiently. However, challenges such as heavy rainfall are delaying the completion of key portions of the expressway.
Progress of Ganga Expressway
The expressway is a massive 594 km-long project, stretching from Meerut to Prayagraj, passing through 12 districts and 518 villages. Once completed, it will reduce the travel time between Meerut and Prayagraj to just 6 hours, with cars being able to run at speeds up to 120 km/h. While it will be a six-lane expressway, there are provisions to expand it to eight lanes if necessary.
The construction progress, as of now:
- Main Carriageway: 81% of the earth-filling work is completed, with site clearance 100% done.
- Granular Sub-Base (GSB): 61% completed.
- Wet Mix Macadam (WMM): 57% completed.
- Dense Bituminous Macadam (DBM): 54% completed.
- Of the 1,481 planned structures (bridges, culverts, etc.), 1,295 have already been built.
Monsoon Delays
Although significant progress has been made, the monsoon season has hampered work, especially in the 150 km stretch where soil filling remains incomplete. UPEIDA is making efforts to source 1 crore cubic meters of fly ash from nearby regions like Sonbhadra to continue the filling work. According to a UPEIDA official, the first two packages of the expressway, which cover approximately half of the route from Meerut to Unnao, are nearly complete, but the remaining portions are facing delays due to waterlogging caused by the rain.
Route of Ganga Expressway
The Ganga Expressway will connect key cities of Uttar Pradesh, starting from Meerut and passing through:
- Hapur
- Bulandshahr
- Amroha
- Sambhal
- Budaun
- Shahjahanpur
- Hardoi
- Unnao
- Rae Bareli
- Pratapgarh
- Ending in Prayagraj.
Projected Cost
The total estimated cost of the project is around ₹36,000 crores, and it is being executed in 12 phases.
