Newly opened road projects redefine Delhi-NCR travel

Imagine zipping from Delhi’s Singhu Border to the IGI Airport in just 40 minutes - something that until now seemed like a commuter’s daydream.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday turned it into reality by inaugurating two mega road projects designed to cut Delhi’s traffic woes and redefine travel across the Capital and NCR.

The newly-opened Delhi section of the Dwarka Expressway and a major stretch of Urban Extension Road-II (UER-II) together promise to slash travel time, ease congestion at choke points and improve connectivity for both daily commuters and industry.

Built at a cost of Rs 5,360 crore, the 10.1-km Delhi stretch of the Dwarka Expressway will seamlessly link the city to Haryana, offering multi-modal connectivity to Yashobhoomi, Metro’s Blue and Orange Lines, upcoming Bijwasan railway station and Dwarka’s cluster bus depot.

With its two packages - from Shiv Murti to Dwarka Sector 21 and from Dwarka Sector 21 to the Delhi-Haryana border - the project connects directly to UER-II and beyond.

The Prime Minister also threw open the Alipur-Dichaon Kalan stretch of UER-II, along with new links to Bahadurgarh and Sonepat, developed at a cost of around Rs 5,580 crore. The expressway is expected to decongest busy junctions like Mukarba Chowk, Dhaula Kuan and NH-09, while providing faster routes for goods movement across NCR.

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta hailed the projects as a “revolution in Delhi’s speed.” She said: “Who would have thought that the journey from Singhu Border to the airport could be completed in just 40 minutes? Who would have imagined that the dreaded traffic jams of Mukarba Chowk, Dhaula Kuan and NH-8 could be overcome so smoothly? All of this has been made possible by the foresight and resolve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”

The 19-km Haryana section of the Dwarka Expressway had been inaugurated earlier in March 2024, completing a crucial corridor that is now being billed as a game-changer for Delhi-NCR mobility.

With both stretches open, Delhiites are set to experience smoother drives, faster airport runs and a future where gridlocks at city entry points could soon be history.