The much-anticipated Delhi-Dehradun Expressway is poised to deliver positive news for road travelers en route to Uttarakhand's sacred devbhoomi. This extensive 212-kilometer expressway is anticipated to substantially reduce travel time, slashing the current five-hour journey to Dehradun or Haridwar by an impressive 2 hours and 30 minutes, resulting in a total travel time of just 90 minutes.

The swift progress in the construction of the Delhi-Dehradun Greenfield Access Controlled Expressway suggests that it is set to be open for public use in March of the current year. With an estimated cost of Rs 10,000 crore, this expressway stands as a pivotal infrastructure development for the region.

Commencing its journey from the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway near Akshardham in the national capital, the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway will traverse through Shastri Park, Khajuri Khas, Baghpat, Shamli, and Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh before reaching its destination in Dehradun. Remarkably, it boasts the title of being the largest wildlife elevated corridor in Asia, facilitating uninhibited wildlife movement. In a thoughtful approach to minimize disruption, a 340-meter tunnel near the Dat Kaali temple in Dehradun has been specifically designed to facilitate wildlife passage.

The impending inauguration of the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway stands as a significant milestone in augmenting connectivity and streamlining travel for the region.

The ongoing construction of the 210 km Delhi – Saharanpur – Dehradun Expressway, managed by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), is a vital access-controlled highway that links Akshardham in Delhi to Dehradun in Uttarakhand.

This amalgamation of brownfield and greenfield project, sanctioned under the Bharatmala Pariyojana’s Delhi – Dehradun Economic Corridor in 2020, had its detailed project report (DPR) crafted by MSV International Inc. in 2019. The foundation stone was laid by Nitin Gadkari on February 26, 2021, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi overseeing a ceremonial event on December 4, 2021.

The expressway, featuring 12 lanes in Phase 1 and 6 lanes in Phases 2, 3, & 4, is expected to be completed in stages by December 2024, as per the current deadline. Operating under the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) model, this project, owned by NHAI, comes with a total estimated cost of Rs. 13,000 crore.