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NEW DELHI:
HIGHLIGHTS
Ghaziabad, Greater Noida, Faridabad will be linked without any signals
Expressway to help divert traffic to Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana
Six-lane expressway will have fuel outlets, toilets, restaurants, motels
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Sunday dedicate to the nation two newly built expressways – Delhi-Meerut Expressway and the Eastern Peripheral Expressway. PM Modi will travel in an open jeep on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway and afterwards fly to Baghpat to inaugurate India’s first smart and green highway, the Eastern Peripheral Expressway. Built at a cost of Rs. 11,000 crore, the Eastern Peripheral Expressway has several unique features to its name. It is India’s first highway to be lit by solar power besides provisions of rain water harvesting on every 500 metres on both sides.

The 135-km-long Eastern Peripheral Expressway or EPE has been built in a record time of 17 months. Its foundation stone was laid by PM Modi in November 2015. It originates at Kundli and ends at Palwal. Kundli and Palwal are both in Haryana.

India’s first smart and green highway

The Expressway is India’s first highway to be lit by solar power and has provisions of rain water harvesting on every 500 metres on both sides and would showcase 36 national monuments and 40 fountains, Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari said, adding it has been completed in a record 500 days.

There are 8 solar power plants on this expressway having a capacity of 4000-kilo watt (4 MW).

Mr Gadkari said 2.5 lakh trees have been planted along the highway. “For plantation, drip irrigation has been used in the central median as well as for avenue plantation,” he said.

The interchanges have been developed architecturally with beautiful plantation merged with fountains and 28 fountains have been installed drip irrigation provision has been done, he added.

Also, a cycle track of 2.5 metre has been developed on both sides of the expressway.

Intelligent highway traffic management system

The minister said it is equipped with smart and intelligent highway traffic management system (HTMS) and video incident detection system (VIDS) and will set a benchmark in highway construction by being environment-friendly with world-class safety features and smart/interactive infrastructure.

Over 11 lakh tonnes of cement, 1 lakh tonnes of steel, 3.6 crore cum earthwork and 1.2 cr cum fly-ash were used for the project, the minister said adding the project has generated employment opportunities of about 50 lakh man-days and 9,375 manpower was deployed here.

Signal-free expressway

Eastern Peripheral Expressway envisages signal-free connectivity between Ghaziabad, Greater Noida, Faridabad and Palwal and will ultimately decongest the national capital. About two lakh vehicles, including trucks and commercial traffic, are expected to ply on the expressway without entering the national capital.

In order to have an uninterrupted travel experience and faster toll collection, the toll plazas will be provided with Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) system.

Eastern Peripheral Expressway will help divert at least 50,000 vehicles going to Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, bringing down vehicular pollution.

The alignment of EPE starts near Kundli and passes through six parliamentary constituencies, viz Sonepat, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Noida, Faridabad and Palwal.