₹1,645cr project to connect Yamuna Expressway with Delhi-Agra highway approved
What's the story
The Uttar Pradesh Braj Teerth Vikas Parishad's ₹1,645 crore project to connect the Yamuna Expressway (Noida-Agra) and the Delhi-Agra National Highway in Mathura has been approved by the central government.
Per PTI, the approval came on the last day of the financial year.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will soon start land acquisition procedures for this link road in its first phase.
Infrastructure
Project details: A 15km road and bridge over Yamuna
The project entails the construction of a 15km, six-lane road that will connect the Yamuna Expressway at its 101st km with the Delhi-Agra Highway near Jaint.
It also proposes a bridge over the Yamuna River.
The route will start from Jaint (Km 129.32), go near Ramtal in Vrindavan, cross the river, and merge with the expressway.
Accessibility
A boon for pilgrims and tourists
This new link road will give easy access to people from eastern and western UP, Bihar, and other states traveling through Agra to Mathura and Vrindavan. It will likely ease traffic congestion to a large extent.
Shyam Bahadur Singh, ex-officio CEO of the Parishad, said a designated exit for Vrindavan would ensure smooth travel for pilgrims and tourists from Delhi, Haryana, and Rajasthan, as well as western UP.
Parking solution
Multi-level parking facility to reduce congestion
Singh has also announced a bridge over the Yamuna from Jugal Ghat in Vrindavan to Jahangirpur.
A multi-level parking facility with a capacity for 3,000 vehicles will also come up.
Visitors can then park their vehicles outside the city and take smaller ones for local travel, thus decongesting the area, he added.
Financial support
State budget allocation for Vrindavan corridor construction
The state has sanctioned ₹150 crore in the current financial year's budget to construct a corridor in Vrindavan, similar to those in Ayodhya and Varanasi, aimed at facilitating pilgrim visits to the Banke Bihari Temple.
Singh said the two projects will contribute toward making Mathura-Vrindavan a hub for tourism.
The parishad had submitted the project roadmap to the state government nearly three years ago.