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 received approval on the last day of the fiscal year, said officials.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will begin land acquisition activities for Phase I of the PRR link road. Shyam Bahadur Singh, the ex-officio CEO of the Parishad and the Vice Chairman of the Mathura-Vrindavan Development Authority, stated that the six-lane road will be 15 km long and connect the Yamuna Expressway at its 101 km mark with the Delhi-Agra Highway close to Jaint.
The proposal also includes a bridge connecting the road to the other bank of the river. The route will start at Jaint (Km 129.32), travel toward Ramtal (which belongs to the municipality of Vrindavan), cross the Yamuna, and fit itself under the expressway.
“A designated exit for Vrindavan will ensure that pilgrims and tourists from Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, and western Uttar Pradesh can reach the city without traffic congestion,” Singh said.
The bridge will enable people traveling from eastern and western Uttar Pradesh, the state of Bihar, and other states through Agra to go to Mathura and Vrindavan without any problem. The Parishad had presented the project roadmap to the state government nearly three years ago.
Singh said, “A bridge will be built over the Yamuna from Jugal Ghat in Vrindavan to Jahangirpur, and a multi-level parking facility with a capacity for 3,000 vehicles will also be developed. This will allow visitors to park their vehicles outside the city and use smaller vehicles for local travel, reducing congestion.”
The government has already allocated ₹150 crore in the budget for this financial year to build a corridor in Vrindavan, similar to Ayodhya and Varanasi, to help visit the Banke Bihari Temple.
“With both these projects, Mathura-Vrindavan is set to become a major tourism hub. Improved connectivity and infrastructure will significantly boost tourism development in the region,” Singh added.
