Following the inauguration of the Gorakhpur Link Expressway, Uttar Pradesh now comprises 42% of India’s total access-controlled expressway network, an increase from the previous 38%, according to a statement made by a state government spokesperson on Friday.
According to Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh, India has a total of 2,900 km of access-controlled expressways, of which more than 1,200 km are located in Uttar Pradesh alone, the spokesperson said. Earlier this share was 38 per cent, but with the addition of the Gorakhpur Link Expressway, it has increased to 42 per cent.
Uttar Pradesh is the only state in the country where the maximum number of expressways have been completed, and many others are either under construction or proposed. The Gorakhpur Link Expressway is the seventh operational expressway in the state, while three more expressways are under construction and eight are planned.
The spokesperson said that the work on the Ganga Expressway (594 km), Ballia Link Expressway (35 km), and Lucknow-Kanpur Greenfield Expressway (63 km) is progressing rapidly. Similarly, the construction of the Chitrakoot Link Expressway is also underway, which will connect the Agra-Lucknow Expressway to the Purvanchal and Bundelkhand Expressways via Farrukhabad. Also, another link expressway connecting the Ganga Expressway and the Jewar Airport Link Expressway is also under construction.
According to the state government, Uttar Pradesh is the only state in the country where a plan for an expressway network of more than 2,000 km is underway. These expressways are not limited to the capital or major cities but also connect backward areas like Bundelkhand, Purvanchal, and Terai.
