NH-24 widening to begin in three months: Gadkari

NEW DELHI: Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari has said that work on the widening of NH-24 up to Dasna in Ghaziabad will begin in three months. The Rs 5,000 crore-project will entail sixteen laning of the NH-24 stretch from near ITO till Dasna, easing out traffic in Delhi, Ghaziabad and Noida.
The widening work is part of the Delhi-Meerut expressway project.
"We are making a 16-lane highway on NH-24 from near ITO till Dasna. This will ease traffic jams in the national capital and will pass by Akshardham temple. The work will start on the project in three months," said Gadkari in an interview to PTI.
The widening of the road will start from near Yamuna bridge on NH-24 and will go up to Dasna via UP-Delhi border and eventually till Meerut, an official said. The 16-lane project will include six-lanes as expressway, making it an access-controlled highway.
The minister also said that the Rs 6,000 crore Eastern Peripheral Expressway plan is also on the fast track. "File has gone from the Finance ministry to the Cabinet. In a month's time we hope to start work on the project (Eastern Bypass Project)."
The expressway envisages to provide signal-free connectivity between Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Gautam Budh Nagar and Palwal.
"I met the Delhi minister who said that the state government cannot fund the project. So, I said we will fund it. Delhi had to give land for the project but later they said they will not be able to provide it," he said.
The project is likely to be completed by July 2018, a source said. PTI