Sultanpur: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today inaugurated the 341-km Purvanchal Expressway in Uttar Pradesh after landing on the highway airstrip in an IAF C-130 Hercules plane.
The 341 kilometre-long Purvanchal Expressway starts from village Chaudsarai, district Lucknow located on Lucknow-Sultanpur road (NH-731) and ends at village Hydaria located on National Highway number 31, 18 kilometres east of the Uttar Pradesh-Bihar border.
The expressway is 6-lane wide which can be expanded to 8-lane in future. Constructed at an estimated cost of about ₹22,500 crore, the Purvanchal Expressway is set to give a boost to the economic development of the eastern part of Uttar Pradesh especially the districts of Lucknow, Barabanki, Amethi, Ayodhya, Sultanpur, Ambedkar Nagar, Azamgarh, Mau and Ghazipur.
The Purvanchal Expressway connects the state capital Lucknow to the eastern region via Azamgarh. With the development of this expressway, the eastern region of the state would not only be connected to Lucknow but also further to the National Capital through Agra-Lucknow and Yamuna Expressways. Greenfield project This greenfield expressway has its starting point at Chand Sarai village, located near the existing Lucknow-Sultanpur Road (NH-731) in Lucknow district.
The districts falling on the expressway are Lucknow, Barabanki, Amethi, Sultanpur, Ayodhya, Ambedkar Nagar, Azamgarh, Mau and Ghazipur. The project has been divided into 8 packages for implementation. Contracts have been constituted with the developers of all packages with effect from October 2018. The project completion deadline was met as it is being dedicated to the people in November 2021.
Being an access-controlled expressway, it would provide benefits like fuel-saving, time saving and control in pollution level, along with reduction in accidents. The areas covered by the expressway would gain several social and economic benefits as agriculture, commerce, tourism, and other industrial development will get a flip. Industrial training Institutes, educational institutions, medical institutes, new townships and other commercial establishments will be developed near the expressway areas.