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-   -   Delhi section of India's first 14-lane expressway inaugurated (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street-experiences/198830-delhi-section-indias-first-14-lane-expressway-inaugurated.html)

The Delhi section of India's first 14-lane expressway was recently inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Package I of the Delhi-Meerut Expressway was developed by Welspun Enterprises Ltd. for the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).



The 8.716 km Delhi section was completed in 18 months, 12 months ahead of schedule. It consists of a 6-lane expressway in the centre and 4-lane highways on either side. The new road has been designed for speeds up to 120 km/h and is expected to cut travel time from 45 minutes to just 8 minutes.



The stretch features a cycling track on both sides, vertical gardens, solar panels for lighting, drip water irrigation systems, Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS) and CCTV. Replicas of famous monuments like the Qutub Minar and Ashoka Stambh have also been built along this section.

Link to Team-BHP News

With this, now we need to launch a training program on how to use this road. We will soon witness traffic in all its randomness on the side highways and cycle tracks.

That looks brilliant and similar to any major US interstate! If there can be sustained development of such freeways across India over a period of time, India's road network could potentially mirror those in developed countries, and is a good wishlist to hope for.

Brilliant. We are surely getting there even though slowly. To give an example, Delhi to Lucknow a roughly 550 KM stretch can now easily be done in under 7 hours with minimum fatigue. Something unheard of till few years ago. That is equivalent to time taken to cover a similar amount of distance in any developed country of the world with superior road network.
Now if only those sumo/bolero drivers doing 35 kmph in the fast lane can be taught to stay on the left.

Not really. The fast lane is designed to be slow vehicle friendly lol:
Just look at the convergence, pathetic and dangerous!

Though it is a wonderful development to have an option to bypass Delhi, I dont understand why they miss the lane engineering part. There is a severe and a stupid flaw in how they have marked the lanes. When you design an expressway meant for high speeds, you just dont draw straight lines and call them as lanes and truncate lanes where the road narrows down. And in their main picture, I can spot two major flaws:




So there is a three lane exit, which springs up out of nowhere. There is no prior lane marking or additional lane created to help vehicles slow down and take an exit. At least if its a single lane exit that is one thing, but here we have three lane exit, and there is no way a car on the middle lane can take the exit without slowing down, which will cause another issue to oncoming vehicles. The same issue exists on the NICE road in Bangalore. Many a times, I have almost missed the exit because it springs out of nowhere, especially their clover leaf junction. Here is another example of a German exit:



The design is so smooth. First a lane change, then we slow down and take the exit. Here slowing down is again optional. However in the Eastern expressway, the driver will have to slow down first and then take the exit. The other two lanes will be practically a waste.



Now lets see this example, which is even horrific:




How can you expect a three lane ramp merge into a three lane carriageway? So in case there are two cars trying to enter the carriageway side by side, they will end up taking two lanes out of three when they enter. If there are two cars or trucks coming on the expressway beside each other, then we will have a pileup since no vehicle will have space to evade. :Frustrati


I see that there are six lanes in the center which are far more consistent and I believe this is the main 'expressway' where people hit speeds. I hope my belief is right and they leave the outer six lanes for all the exit/entry mess.

This is a perfect example of how dangerous our roads are, no matter how wide they are made. Absolute lack of proper scientific road engineering is seen everywhere across India, no one bothers to question these contractors for sheer lack of it. The less said about lane markings, diversions are marked just few meters before dead end causing sudden braking/manoeuvres. The number of blind spots are so many on our roads that we have to remain vigil all times and can't rely on anyone else. Not just lorries or cabs hogging fast lane, I have encountered all kinds of people doing same.

I appreciate all kinds of road infrastructure projects being undertaken or completed so far but the same amount of seriousness in scientific road engineering of new and existing ones will surely reduce the number of road fatalities. We are trying to cram roads on every possible inch of available land in cities without proper clearing of encroachments or resolving land disputes, leading to bad infrastructure which looks good only from above the ground. End of rant.

I wonder if they have put up a lane closing board well before reaching this point. Guaranteed accident spot if they have not.

Must say, mighty impressed by what I see. Proof that if nothing comes in our way, we can achieve our targets. Sadly; not always the case.

I did not know Welspun were in the business of building roads.

Another 88km to go. Definitely want to keep an eye on this project.

16 years ago, when I set out on a overnight motorcycle ride from Bangalore to Chennai, I was on some road which was to be the main Bangalore Chennai freeway. It was being built. Quite a sight to see this road today.

Looking at the motorcycle rider it seem (s)he is quite determined to prove the roads unsafe by going into completely wrong direction? Someone else may end up paying price for such wise individuals.

We must do good road and traffic engineering, who will drill more wisdom in already wise people? stupid:

You are right the six lanes in the center are the expressway. I travel this road daily and it is a transformation to what it was before. The side lanes are for entry and exits. On intersections the side lanes also have a flyover helping uninterrupted flow of traffic with no signals. There are very limited entries and exits to the expressway and they have additional lanes dedicated for the same.

We take this route daily from Indirapuram (Ghaziabad) to Delhi. The entire stretch would be ready by 2020. With the Barapullah extension completed, it will take me just 20 mins from my home to AIIMS - distance of 23 kms.

The 6 lanes are part of the main expressway which has no exit when travelling from UP gate to Sarai Khale khan. Here is a video from my dash cam of the operational part of Meerut Expressway.

Background of EPE and the Alignment

The national capital is connected with the rest of the country through nine major road networks including national and state highways. In the absence of any peripheral road or an alternative route, all traffic coming from these roads traverse through Delhi, be it destined for Delhi or out of the capital city. The result is massive traffic congestion and the consequential contribution to air pollution due to vehicular emissions. Peripheral Expressways around Delhi, comprising the Western Peripheral Expressway (WPE), also known as KMP, and the EPE connecting NH-1 and NH-2 from western and eastern sides of Delhi, was conceived with the twin objectives of decongesting and de-polluting the national capital by diverting traffic not destined for Delhi. The EPE and WPE in a way constitute one combined project forming an outer- outer Ring Road around Delhi with a total length of 270 km, of which about 183 km passes through Haryana, and the remaining about 87 km through Uttar Pradesh.

Rigorous Monitoring

About two weeks an impression was sought to be created that though the project was complete in April, its opening was postponed because of delay in its inauguration. The fact is that the Hon'ble Prime Minister, who has been keeping abreast of the project status, had indicated his availability initially for 8th Apriland then for 29th April for inaugurating the expressway. However, it had to be postponed twice on the ministry's request as the interchange loops on NH-1 and a major rail over bridge (ROB) .The slab on the ROB was cast on 16th of May, and time had to be allowed for its curing and ability to take traffic.

Jobs

The project has generated employment opportunities of about 50 lakh man days. The contractors deployed 2094 workers and another 7281 skilled and unskilled labourers.

New Features

Close Tolling System: Toll will be collected only for the distance travelled and not for the entire length. Thus, this becomes the first project where the principle of “pay as you use” is envisaged to be applied in its true form. Toll plazas are equipped with electronic toll collection system for faster processing and uninterrupted travel experience. Iconic Toll Plaza: An iconic toll plaza has been built at the entry point on Kundli side and its height is 170 ft with 154 ft wing on each side Digital Art Gallery: A firstof- its-kind digital gallery has been set up beneath the toll plaza. The first such art gallery on a road project in the world is expected to emerge as an attraction for road users.

Restrictions on Overloaded Vehicles

Weigh-in-Motion (WIMs) equipment have been installed at 30 every entry points of the expressway. Provision has been made for two gates after passing through the WIM - first entry gate will open if the load is within the permissible limits, and the second exit gate will open if the vehicle is overloaded. For overloaded vehicles, a provision for parking and unloading of overloaded material has also been made after the exit gate.

Automatic Traffic Management System (ATMS)

The expressway is planned to be equipped with variable message signs, CCTV, video incident detection system, warning devices, Over Speed Checking System, Weigh-in-Motion systems, Pavement Management Systems and a Fiber Optic network.


It is indeed a sense of achievement and fulfillment for the government and all the five construction agencies engaged for completion of this crucial project in 500 working days.

The project completion period was kept at two-and-a half years or 910 days. The Hon'ble Prime Minister laid the foundation stone on November 5, 2015. During construction, the work remained suspended for about 450 days due to problems linked to land acquisition.


Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...t/64325931.cms

I am currently in Abu Dhabi and commute on the famous Sheikh Zayed road which connects Dubai to Abu Dhabi, the speed limit is 140 kmph once you leave the outskirts of the city.

What is surprising to see that even on such a highway, they ALWAYS have a single lane entry for smaller roads and not more than two lanes entry for connecting bigger roads. Plus the entry and exit curves are very smooth and not as sharply curved as the ones shown in these pictures above. This gives the drivers on the expressway enough space and time to adjust speeds if a vehicle is coming on to the expressway. The design of entry ramp of Delhi expressway that I see in the photo is a death trap. I see a lot of high speed trucks crashing onto vehicles joining the expressway in future. As it is, not many Indian drivers follow the 'Right hand rule'.

This is good to hear, reassures my thoughts. Its no fun if we are driving at a good speed and suddenly we will have a bunch of cars entering our lane without getting a chance to spot it before it enters the lane.

I have been using this stretch of road (Till Mayur Vihar Phase 2) for the last decade and let me highlight some points which I thought were worth sharing!

* The stretch from Sarai Kale Khan/Millenium Bus Depot, which, I believe is the starting point of the expressway from Delhi (correct me if I am wrong) has been existence forever but was prone to massive I repeat massive traffic snarls till Mayur Vihar Phase 2, a stretch of around 6 to 7 km BEFORE this expressway came into being.

* The jams have now completely disappeared!

* The widened roads, vertical gardens on the boundary wall grill of the flyover on the Yamuna river look great. The foliage in different hues of green against the backdrop of pale yellow coloured grills have a soothing effect on the eyes.

* There's a colourful water fountain, a replica of Qutub Minar place on the wide median at the beginning of the stretch while NHAI in large silver letters adorn the left side of the expressway upon entering.

* All roadside kiosks selling tea/chips/cigarettes have been cleared and Thank God for that.

* The road surface is quite smooth and you hear very little tyre noise.

The only negative I came across was that exit and entry signs with flashing amber lights like on the Delhi-Gurugram expressway are not present.

Moreover, while the government, it seems, has overall done a good job, people here just don't want to follow rules.

The under bridges are prone to bikes, cars, small goods carriers entering 'No Entry' zones, driving into oncoming traffic and taking the lane to bypass the highway which is reserved for incoming traffic, all to save just five minutes!

Few months ago, a man on a bike lost his life as he was riding on the wrong side. Yet no lessons were learnt. Again, instead of relying on the common sense of citizens, which is in short supply, the government will have to deploy a couple of traffic cops on either side of the exit and entry points for at least a few months.