Purvanchal Expressway
Map
Purvanchal Expressway in red
E-mZbncVIAQ8VAA.jpg
A section of Purvanchal Expressway
Route information
Maintained by Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA)
Length211.8 mi (340.9 km)
Existed16 November 2021–present
Major junctions
West endChand Saray village, Lucknow district
East endHaydaria village, NH-31, Ghazipur district
Location
CountryIndia
StateUttar Pradesh
Highway system
State Highways in Uttar Pradesh

Purvanchal Expressway[1] is a 340.8 km long, 6-lane wide (expandable to 8) access-controlled expressway in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India.[2][3] The expressway connects Chand Saray village near Gosainganj in Lucknow district with Haydaria village on NH-31 in Ghazipur district. It is developed by the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA). The Purvanchal Expressway has a 3.2 km long airstrip at Akhalkiri Karwat village near Kurebhar in Sultanpur district for emergency landing of aircraft.[4] The construction work was started by the UPEIDA on 10 October 2018 and was inaugurated and opened to the public on 16 November 2021.[5][6]

The project was announced and laid down by the then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav as Lucknow-Azamgarh-Ballia Samajwadi Purvanchal Expressway in May 2015.[7][8] Later, route was changed to Lucknow-Azamgarh-Ghazipur by the Yogi Adityanath government, and upon acquisition of around 95% of required land, foundation stone of Purvanchal Expressway was laid on 14 July 2018 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.[9][10][11][12][13][14] With a total project value of ₹22,494 crore, including the land acquisition cost, the Expressway was India's longest expressway at the time of completion.[15][16]

The expressway is to be linked with Varanasi–Azamgarh highway through a separate link road. UPEIDA is also constructing the Gorakhpur Link Expressway, which will connect Jaitpur village in Gorakhpur district with Purvanchal Expressway at Salarpur village in Azamgarh district. Upon the completion of 17 km long, 4-lane wide Buxar–Ghazipur Elevated Road (Bharauli near Buxar to Haydaria in Ghazipur), Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh will be directly connected to Buxar, Arrah and Patna in Bihar by Purvanchal Expressway and NH-922.[17][18]

5 industrial corridors will be set up alongside Purvanchal Expressway. As on Nov., 2023, the land has been identified and process for bainama is underway.

Route

The Purvanchal Expressway connects Chand Saray village near Gosainganj in Lucknow district with Haydaria village on Mohammadabad–Buxar highway (NH-31) in Ghazipur district. It passes through 9 districts of Uttar Pradesh i.e. (from west to east) Lucknow, Barabanki, Amethi, Sultanpur, Ayodhya, Ambedkar Nagar, Azamgarh, Mau and Ghazipur.

Entry/ Exits

The following entry/exit points are present in the expressway:[19]

Chainage Intersecting Road No Details of the Intersecting Road Project Structure
-0+270 NH 56 (NH731) National Highway NH56/731 Trumpet Interchange
36+870 SH 13 Haidergarh - Barabanki Road Slip Roads with toll booth
58+380 SH 31 Inhauna - Rudauli Road Slip Roads with toll booth
81+900 SH 15 Raebareli - Faizabad Road Interchange with Toll Plaza
121+860 SH 9 Sultanpur - Faizabad Road Interchange with Toll Plaza
138+150 NH 232 (NH-128) Sultanpur - Akbarpur Road Interchange with Toll Plaza
161 MDR 113E Akbarpur - Dostpur Road slip Roads with Toll booth
182+360 SH 5 Akbarpur - Jaunpur Road Slip Roads with toll booth
191 TRUMPET INTERCHANGE Gorakhpur Link Expressway ENTRY AND EXIT POINT
203 SH 124 AHIRAULA-BUDHANPUR ROAD SLIPS ROAD WITH TOLL BOOTH
234+650 NH 233 (NH-28) Azamgarh - Tanda Road Interchange with Toll Plaza
253+850 SH 34 Azamgarh - Mau Road Slip Roads with toll booth
294+200 SH 34 Mau - Ghazipur Road Interchange with Toll Plaza
329+500 Ballia Link Ballia Link Road (future) Slip Roads with toll booth
340+500 NH 19 (NH-31) National Highway Road NH19 Trumpet Interchange

Construction

The UPEIDA divided the construction work of 340.8 km long Purvanchal Expressway into 8 packages, which were awarded to 5 different contractors.[20] The design work was done by Egis India Consulting Engineers (Package 1 to 4) and Ayesa India (Package 5 to 8).

22 Flyovers, 7 Railway-over-bridges (ROB), 7 major bridges, 114 minor bridges, 6 Toll Plazas, 45 vehicular-underpasses (VUP), 139 Light VUP, 87 pedestrian underpass and 525 Box culverts has been constructed.[21] Total construction cost (excluding the cost of Land) is around ₹11,216 crores.

Following is the list of contractors:

Sr. No. Package Length in km Contractor
1. Chand Saray (Lucknow)–Sansara (Barabanki) 40.4 Gayatri Projects[22]
2. Sansara (Barabanki)–Jarai Kalan (Amethi) 39.7 Gayatri Projects
3. Jarai Kalan (Amethi)–Siddhi Ganeshpur (Sultanpur) 41.7 Apco Infratech
4. Siddhi Ganeshpur (Sultanpur)–Sansarpur (Sultanpur) 42.7 GR Infraprojects
5. Sansarpur (Sultanpur)–Govindpur (Azamgarh) 54.0 PNC Infratech[23]
6. Govindpur (Azamgarh)–Mojrapur (Azamgarh) 28.2 PNC Infratech
7. Mojrapur (Azamgarh)–Bijaura (Ghazipur) 46.0 GR Infraprojects
8. Bijaura (Ghazipur)–Haydaria (Ghazipur) 48.0 Oriental Structural Engineers

Inauguration

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at the inauguration site in the C-130 Hercules and later touch and go exercise was also performed on the expressway by the Indian Air Force (IAF).[24][25] Indian Air Force fighter jets performed the 'touch and go' operation, under which 30 fighter planes touched the Purvanchal expressway airstrip and then took off. Fighter jets including Mirage 2000, AN-32, Jaguar, and Sukhoi performed touch and go operations and showcased a landing on the expressway. The Indian aircraft showcased tricolor in the sky.[26]

Delhi–Lucknow–Patna connectivity

The Purvanchal Expressway is a part of Government of Uttar Pradesh's initiative to connect Lucknow with Ghazipur in order to improve transportation facilities and trade & commerce activities in East UP and Bihar.[27][28] Upon the completion of 4-lane wide Buxar–Ghazipur Elevated Road (Bharauli near Buxar to Haydaria in Ghazipur), people can also travel from New Delhi to Patna in Bihar via Agra and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh by using following route:

Sr. No. Name of Road from to Distance in km
1 DND Flyway New Delhi Noida 6.0
2 Noida–Greater Noida Expressway Noida Greater Noida 24.5
3 Yamuna Expressway Greater Noida Agra 165.5
4 Agra Ring Road Kuberpur (Agra) Hingot Kheria (Agra) ~10
5 Agra–Lucknow Expressway Agra Lucknow 302.2
6 Lucknow Ring Road Sarosa Bharosa (Lucknow) Chand Saray (Lucknow) 40
7 Purvanchal Expressway Lucknow Ghazipur 340.8
8 Ghazipur–Buxar Elevated Road Ghazipur Buxar 17.0
9 Buxar–Arrah–Patna (NH-922) Buxar Patna 125.0

Note: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari announced on 28 August 2021 that the Government of India will construct Ghazipur–Arrah–Patna Expressway at an event in Arrah, Bihar.[29][30]

Status updates

Controversies and Criticism

The first seasonal rains in October 2022 caused wide stretches of road caving deep in, some extending to even 15 feet deep. Accidents were reported at several places, with multiple injuries and damage to numerous cars garnering significant coverage in media. The much proclaimed dream project of Yogi Adityanath, built over a whopping 22000 crore expense by the Yogi government and inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November 2021, faced subsequent backlash and criticism for the alleged irregularities and corruption in construction of the expressway which couldn't withstand the first few hours of rain within a year following its inauguration.[59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66]

See also

References

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  2. ^ "Purvanchal Expressway to be backbone of eastern UP economy: Yogi Adityanath". India Today. Press Trust of India. 13 November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  3. ^ a b "PM Narendra Modi lays foundation stone of Purvanchal Expressway worth Rs 23,300 cr in UP's Azamgarh". Zee News. 14 July 2018.
  4. ^ "PM to inaugurate this UP expressway with an airstrip for fighter planes". The New Indian Express. 12 November 2021.
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  6. ^ "सुल्तानपुर: प्रधानमंत्री 16 नवंबर को करेंगे पूर्वांचल एक्सप्रेस-वे का लोकार्पण, तैयारियों में जुटे अधिकारी". Amar Ujala (in Hindi). Retrieved 6 November 2021.
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  59. ^ "15 feet pothole in Purvanchal Expressway". Aaj Tak. 22 October 2022.
  60. ^ "Purvanchal Expressway collapses". NBT. 7 October 2022.
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  62. ^ "Purvanchal Expressway caves in within one year of inauguration". Jansatta. 7 October 2022.
  63. ^ "Potholes in rain on Purvanchal Expressway". Aaj Tak. 7 October 2022.
  64. ^ "Many injured after getting stuck in potholes at Purvanchal Expressway". Jagran. 8 October 2022.
  65. ^ "Portion of expressway caves in at Sultanpur". The Indian Express. 7 October 2022.
  66. ^ "Portion of Purvanchal Expressway caves in, Opposition attacks". Times Now. 7 October 2022.

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