Commuters in Delhi and neighbouring states may soon witness a transformative shift in regional travel as the ₹8,000-crore Urban Extension Road (UER)–II nears completion. The expressway, originally envisioned under the Delhi Master Plan 2021 as the city’s third Ring Road, is expected to be operational by August, offering faster and more sustainable movement between the capital, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.
According to project officials, construction is now 95 per cent complete, with final touches underway. Once inaugurated, the 74-kilometre corridor will significantly cut travel time from North and Outer Delhi to Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport—by nearly half. It will also improve freight and passenger connectivity between Chandigarh, Gurgaon, and Delhi’s southern periphery.Built across five strategic segments, UER-II is designed to reduce dependency on the capital’s congested Inner and Outer Ring Roads. It begins at NH-44 near Alipur in the north and arcs through industrial and residential pockets of Bawana, Rohini, Mundka, Bakkarwala, Najafgarh, and Dwarka before merging with NH-48 at Mahipalpur, close to the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway. This high-speed corridor not only links key economic zones within Delhi but also connects with the Western and Eastern Peripheral Expressways, forming a vital beltway across the National Capital Region (NCR).
With Delhi’s urban sprawl expanding westwards, the UER-II is expected to become a crucial transit alternative, particularly for freight vehicles and intercity traffic aiming to bypass the city’s gridlocked core. The route will enhance last-mile access between Sonipat and Gurgaon and provide seamless integration with the Dwarka Expressway, bringing significant benefit to regional logistics, airport-bound transit, and underserved rural pockets.Beyond decongesting urban traffic, the expressway has been planned with long-term sustainability in mind. By facilitating faster, signal-free movement, the UER-II is poised to cut down fuel consumption and vehicular emissions—an important objective for a city battling rising air pollution and carbon footprints. With lower idle time and fewer bottlenecks, the corridor supports Delhi’s broader vision of building net-zero carbon, climate-resilient transport infrastructure.
Planners see the project as a rare intersection of connectivity, commerce, and climate resilience. For areas like Najafgarh, Karala, and Bawana—often overlooked in past development blueprints—the corridor promises economic integration and improved public access. Moreover, it enhances cross-border travel between Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, giving peripheral zones a direct line to IGI Airport and South Delhi’s institutional districts.Once opened, the expressway could also influence future city planning across NCR, especially as authorities look to replicate such infrastructure-led decongestion models in fast-growing urban nodes. For a metropolis struggling with chronic traffic snarls and limited east-west linkages, UER-II marks a long-overdue leap toward more equitable and efficient mobility.
The timeline to August now places focus on the final stages of road surfacing, interchange commissioning, and safety audits. While construction officials remain optimistic about meeting deadlines, the eventual impact of this corridor will depend on effective inter-agency coordination, integration with public transport systems, and consistent enforcement to ensure that the gains in mobility do not lead to environmental compromise.
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