594km Ganga Expressway set to open for vehicular movement in late March

Lucknow: The 594km-long Ganga Expressway is slated to be thrown open for vehicular movement in the last week of March. With final preparations underway, the state govt is going to approach the Prime Minister's Office to invite Narendra Modi for the inauguration ceremony of the ambitious project. Senior officials from the Expressways Industrial Development Authority said that the project is expected to be flagged off sometime between March 25 and 31.The authority wants to get the expressway operational from April 1 onwards in order to strengthen its revenue stream from the beginning of the 2026-27 financial year. Being commissioned with a budget of more than Rs 36,200 crore, PM Modi laid the foundation stone of the project in December 2021, after which civil construction work was initiated. The six-lane carriageway would originate from Bijoli, a village in Meerut, and terminate at Judapur Dandu village in Prayagraj.The two locations were chosen strategically in order to provide a wider catchment area that would attract vehicle owners from various parts of the National Capital Region as well as eastern UP. Bijoli is situated close to the Meerut-Hapur highway, while Judapur Dandu is located next to the Phaphamau-Pratapgarh highway.Additional Chief Executive Officer of Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA), Srihari Pratap Shahi, said, "We have already started conducting trials of the toll management system at various exit points. Professionals were deputed to assess the ride quality of the carriageways and the smoothness of the road pavement. We are planning to allow movement of motor vehicles on the stretch by April 1 at the latest. The final call is going to be taken after consultation with senior govt officials."The construction companies deputed to commission the project, which was divided into four packages, already achieved the milestones that were set by the state govt to finish the project. "A total of 1,498 structures of various kinds were required, out of which all were completed and are ready to handle the movement of motor vehicles," said the officer.