New Delhi, May 27: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first phase of Delhi-Meerut Expressway today, along with the Eastern Peripheral Expressway, which is being promoted as India's first green highway.

PM Modi travelled for 9-km in an open jeep on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, beginning from Nizamuddin Bridge to the UP Border. Subsequently, he traveled to Baghpat and dedicated the Kundli-Ghaziabad-Palwal Highway to the nation. The Kundli-Ghaziabad-Palwal Highway is also known as the Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE).

Key Facts to Know About the Eastern Peripheral Expressway:

  • Built at a cost of Rs 11,000-crore, the 135-km no-signal expressway connects Kundli to Palwal, via Ghaziabad. The roadway is expected to divert much of the vehicular traffic from Delhi-NCR as those commuting from as far as Rajasthan to Himachal Pradesh and vice versa, will not be required to pass through the national capital.

  • To avoid congestion, electronic form of payment will be promoted at the toll booths.

  • The lights across the highway would be powered using solar energy. This is the first expressway in the nation which is using renewable source of energy to light up the roads.

  • A total of 50,000 trees have been planted on either sides of the highway to tackle the vehicular pollution. Replicas of 25 major monuments, including Lal Quila, Taj Mahal,  Jalianwala Bagh, Gateway of India and Qutub Minar, among others, will be installed on either sides.

  • The major parliamentary constituencies which will be connected through the EPE include Kundli, Sonipat, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Noida, Faridabad and Palwal

Key Facts to Know About the Delhi-Meerut Expressway Phase-I:

  • The first phase of the 101-km expressway stretches for only 9-km -- from Nizamuddin Bridge to UP border. However, it will prove to be critical for reducing the congestion of vehicles passing to and fro from Noida and Ghaziabad.

  • The expressway is also India's "first-ever 14-lane" highway, which PM Modi has described as "road to freedom from pollution".

  • The project will be completed in four phases - Nizamuddin Bridge to UP Border, UP Border to Dasna, Dasna to Hapur and Hapur to Meerut.

  • At its completion, the project will do away with 31 signals between Delhi and Meerut. It will also bring down the time of journey from 2 hours, 31 minutes at present to merely 40 minutes.

  • When the foundation stone of the project was laid in December 2015, the total cost was pegged at Rs 7,556-crore.

The two highways, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said, will revolutionise the construction of future roadways in India. He further claimed that both the expressways will collectively rid Delhi of the traffic coming from Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 27, 2018 09:38 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).