The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) inaugurated a 244 km stretch of Delhi-Mumbai Expressway between Jhabua of Madhya Pradesh to Modak of Rajashtan, near Jhalawar, on Wednesday i.e September 20, 2023.
The new stretch of the expressway is passing through Madhya Pradesh covering several districts in the western region. This new road connectivity for the state passing through Jhabua, Mandsaur and Ratlam districts in Madhya Pradesh, connecting major cities, including Garoth, Jaora, Ratlam, and Thandla will open a direct conduit to New Delhi, the national capital and, Mumbai, the financial capital of the nation, the Times of India reported.
The Madhya Pradesh part of the expressway has been divided into nine packages. This eight-lane stretch within the state starts from Neemthur village at the Rajasthan border and ends at Timarwani village, serving as the gateway to Gujarat.
“A drive from Jhabua to Delhi cannot be made completely on the Expressway. Between the journey from Jhabua to Delhi, travellers will need to exit the expressway at Modak and follow the Ujjain-Kota Tonk Lalsot (old route). Vehicles again have the option of re-entering the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway from the Lalsot on ramp to reach Delhi (Sohna Road), Times of India quoted HV Kumar, a highway and automotive expert.
“The patch between leaving the expressway at Modak and catching it again at Lalsot, is not an easy drive,” he added.
The 246-km Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot (Rajasthan) stretch was the first section of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway to be opened to public on 12 February 2023. This stretch cut the travel time between Delhi and Jaipur by two hours. The section between Lalsot and Sawai is also complete, though it is not open to the public yet, HV Kumar reported. We can expect the stretch to open soon and offer a higher stretch of uninterrupted travel on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, he added.
The construction of 1,386 km Delhi-Mumbai Expressway— proposed to be longest expressway in India— is going on under full-swing. The foundation stone of the road corridor was laid in March 2019 and is supposed to be complete by December 2024. Once completed, this expressway will pass through six states, including Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra; and is supposed to cut the travel time down to just 12 hours between the national capital and financial capital of the country.
Article source: livemint.com
