The Delhi-Dehradun Expressway, a high-speed corridor designed to significantly cut travel time between the two cities, is nearing completion.
The final stretches of the 210-km six-lane access-controlled expressway are expected to be finished within the next two to three months, according to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. The expressway, being built at a cost of ₹12,000 crore, is set to reduce travel time from the current 6.5 hours to just 2.5 hours. Starting from Akshardham in Delhi, it passes through Baghpat, Baraut, Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, and Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh before reaching Dehradun in Uttarakhand. On 17 May, Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Harsh Malhotra conducted an inspection of the entire 210-km route alongside National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) officials. The minister expressed satisfaction with the project’s pace and highlighted its potential to ease congestion in Delhi and reduce traffic on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway and other nearby routes.
Malhotra instructed NHAI to eliminate remaining bottlenecks and ensure the project is completed on schedule. Officials assured him that all remaining work would be wrapped up in the next two to three months. Among its standout features, the expressway includes India’s longest elevated wildlife corridor—a 12-km stretch near Rajaji National Park—along with six animal underpasses and two elephant underpasses to protect local wildlife. A 340-metre, three-lane tunnel at Datkali in Dehradun, built at a cost of ₹1,995 crore, further enhances the project’s engineering profile. Key infrastructure includes 16 entry and exit points, 113 underpasses, 76 km of service roads, 29 km of elevated roads, and 62 bus shelters. With a designated speed of 100 km per hour, the expressway is designed to serve commuters, tourists, and freight operators with greater efficiency.
Additionally, a spur will connect the expressway to Haridwar, and it will integrate with the Char Dham Highway, boosting access to key pilgrimage and hill destinations in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. Once open, the expressway is expected to transform regional connectivity while balancing ecological conservation.
