The other expressways NHAI has decided to construct are between: Delhi and Meerut (Uttar Pradesh), Dhanbad (Jharkhand)-Kolkata and another between Bangalore-Chennai.

The 1,000 km of expressways spread across four routes are likely to cost Rs 16,800 crore and will be covered under phase-VI of National Highways Development Programme (NHDP). They will be implemented on Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis through the NHAI. While NHAI originally was planning 6-7 expressway corridors — including those between Delhi-Chandigarh, Delhi-Jaipur and Delhi-Agra — these were dropped as NH 1, NH 8 and NH 2 respectively which connect these cities are already set to be six-laned and will take care of the traffic demand here as per a prioritisation study conducted by the authority.

The ministry, meanwhile, is planning a larger ‘national grid of expressways’. “A modern economy requires a network of expressways and not just some short corridors. So the ministry has recently invited international consultancy firms to conduct a study using remote sensing technology to recommend on a network of expressways keeping in mind demographic issues,” Secretary Brahm Dutt, Ministry of Shipping Road Transport & Highways, had told The Indian Express last month.

“We want to connect economically significant areas in such a way that there is least amount of displacement, that the access-controlled greenfield sections do not pass through very fertile land even as they take the shortest route. A dedicated division will be created in NHAI for expressway projects with a Chief General manager (CGM) heading it,” Dutt had said.