Delhi-Haridwar Expressway To Open In 2 Months, Travel Time Cut To 90 Minutes

The above statement was made during the CII National Conference on “Highways of India’s Future: Smart, Safe & Sustainable” on Tuesday. Gadkari stressed the changes in the landscape brought about by the construction of roads.

He made this point clear through an easy example. It used to take three and a half hours to travel from Delhi to Meerut. But today it takes between 40 and 50 minutes to travel. The distance from Delhi to Dehradun took seven hours to travel, but with the new corridor, it takes only two hours.

Now we have connected Delhi and Dehradun, which would take seven hours. But now you can cover it within two hours' time. In the coming month, we will open up Delhi to Haridwar, and that will only take one and a half hours, the transport minister stated.

The minister further pointed out that the government has Rs 1 lakh crore worth of projects for religious tourism alone. It improved roads, increased the number of tourists, and created jobs – this is what the concept is all about.

This is not just any ordinary road; rather, it is a fully access-controlled 6-lane new greenfield expressway.

• Start Point: Akshardham at Delhi, connected to the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway
• Halting Points: Baghpat, Baraut, Muzaffarnagar, and Roorkee
• Haridwar Branch line: This line splits from the main Dehradun line near Roorkee.
• Specific Structures: Wildlife elevated corridor in Rajaji National Park, multiple underpass and overbridge constructions.
• Speed Limit: Around 100 km per hour, making the aim to reach within an hour and a half plausible.

The expressway is being constructed in 4 stages. Nearly 60-70% of the work had already been completed earlier in the year.

The project takes place in an era when the cities of Mohali and Chandigarh Tricity are experiencing the emergence of new projects. These projects have been planned for the high-end housing segment and are particularly located on Airport Road.

Why is this expressway a big deal? Haridwar is a key holy site, not just an ordinary city. Nitin Gadkari shared that visits to Badrinath and Kedarnath tripled after better roads were built, and he expects Haridwar to see the same jump.

What changes for regular people?

• Easier Weekend Trips: You can drive out from Delhi in the morning and easily attend the evening Ganga Aarti in Haridwar the same day.
• Lower Travel Costs: Faster trips mean using less fuel and less wear-and-tear on vehicles.
• More Jobs & Businesses: Towns along the route—like Baghpat, Muzaffarnagar, and Roorkee—will see new dhabas, hotels, and local jobs.
• Higher Property Values: Real estate along the highway is expected to grow in value much faster than nearby inward areas.

The Bigger Economic Impact: Gadkari explained that every ₹100 spent on roads generates ₹325 in economic growth. The road building creates immediate jobs and drives demand for steel, cement, and machines—followed by long-term business growth once opened.

Gadkari also mentioned that India's logistics cost has come down and has spoken of infrastructure projects as a driver of India's upcoming growth.

Gadkari said the transport and logistics cost has been brought down from 16% to about 9% of the country's GDP. "This is among the world's lowest, though in China, the logistics cost is around 8% of the GDP, and in the US, it is around 12%," he said.

He said the earlier higher logistics costs had posed significant challenges for India's international trade and business. Better infrastructure, he added, could help improve agricultural productivity and support industry and commercial activity.

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Final safety strips and toll booths are under construction. Testing will start as soon as the remaining 15 to 20 km from the UP-Uttarakhand border are linked. Additionally, the ministry intends to install electric vehicle charging stations and rest stops every 40 km.

Forget about the heavy traffic and burning hours on NH-58 if you are exhausted. For them, a quick 90-minute drive to Haridwar is one step away from becoming a reality.