PM Modi inaugurates Purvanchal Expressway; all you need to know

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Purvanchal Expressway on 16 November. The expressway will improve the road connectivity of Uttar Pradesh’s eastern region to the capital city of Lucknow.

The 340.824 km-long expressway will benefit people who want to travel to important cities including Allahabad, Varanasi, Ayodhya, and Gorakhpur via link roads. The expressway starts from Lucknow and ends in Ghazipur, which is in the eastern part of Uttar Pradesh.

One of the most prestigious works of the Yogi Adityanath government, the total cost of the project is Rs 22,494.66 crore.

All about Purvanchal Expressway:

The Uttar Pradesh government expects around 15,000-20,000 vehicles to use this expressway every day. However, the government hopes that the number will increase.

To manage and handle accidents or any kind of emergency, ambulances with life support systems will be arranged on the expressway. Reportedly, 20 patrol vehicles will also be deployed.

The expressway will navigate through nine districts of the state — Ambedkar Nagar, Amethi, Lucknow, Barabanki, Azamgarh, Mau, Faizabad, Sultanpur, and Ghazipur.

Along with medical facilities, the government has also made provisions for the landing of fighter jets on the expressway.

The fighter jets will have a three-km long runway at the Kudebhar district in Sultanpur which will be used only in emergency situations.

For the safety of passengers, elaborate security arrangements have been made by the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) for people taking the expressway. The security arrangements will include advanced traffic management systems as well as fencing to stop stray animals.

If at all any animal comes on the expressway, then teams will be present at different spots to get hold of them.

The expressway will provide a major boost to connectivity and is expandable up to eight lanes. It will allow a journey of 300 kilometres to be covered in just three-and-a-half hours.

Through the expressway, the government will earn Rs 202 crore every year. However, no toll money will be collected from travellers using the expressway in the initial days.