Today, the Gorakhpur Link Expressway will be open to vehicular traffic. A senior officer of the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority, (UPEIDA), shared details of the latest report released on Monday. He said that 98 percent of the work on the project had been completed.
The 91-km route is being developed to provide a link between the Purvanchal Expressway in Gorakhpur, via Azamgarh and Ambedkarnagar.
With a 110-metre right of way, the four lane expressway will reduce the current travel time between Lucknow and Gorakhpur from six to less than 4 hours.
SP Shahi, the additional chief executive officer, said that “the main carriageway of Gorakhpur Link Expressway has been completed.” Work on some interchanges and structures is underway and will take several weeks to complete.
According to officials, 337 structures out of 343 that need to be built between Salarpur to Jaitpur (starting and ending points) are ready and the work on the rest is in its final stage.
The authority faces a challenge in completing the Ganga Expressway by the deadline. The authority has set Dec 24 as the deadline for allowing vehicular traffic on the 594 km long expressway linking Meerut and Prayagraj. The UP government believes that it is crucial to ensure seamless connectivity via the Ganga Expressway from NCR to Prayagraj, as Maha Kumbh will begin on January 13, 2025.
The six-lane expressway will likely reduce travel time from 12 hours to 8-9 hours. UPEIDA has asked the construction companies that with 62 per cent completed, they ensure that the main carriageway and all the bridges across rivers and water bodies will be ready by December 24.
“We have asked companies to complete all structures over rivers and water bodies.
90% of the 1,488 structures have been completed. The challenge is to finish the carriageway in time. Our team monitors the progress daily and reports it to the government,” the officer said.
