Amritsar: Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari on Thursday inspected the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Greenfield Expressway (DAK) and the Amritsar bypass during his visit to Punjab.
State Public Works Department Minister Harbhajan Singh and Member of Parliament from Amritsar, Gurjit Singh Aujla, were also present during the inspection.
Five greenfield and economic corridors are being built in Punjab at a cost of Rs 29,000 crore.
This 669-km Delhi-Amritsar-Katra greenfield expressway is being built at a cost of Rs 40,000 crore. With its construction, one can reach Amritsar from Delhi in four hours and Katra from Delhi in six hours.
Presently, the distance from Delhi to Katra is 727 km, with the construction of this route the distance will be reduced by 58 km.
Starting from Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway (KMP) in Delhi, this expressway is being built for 137 km in Haryana.
The length of this expressway in Punjab is 399 km, of which work has started on 296 km.
The length of the expressway in Jammu and Kashmir is 135 km, of which work is going on in 120 km.
In Punjab, this expressway will pass through industrial areas like Patiala, Sangrur, Malerkotla, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Gurdaspur.
A major feature of this corridor includes Asia’s longest 1,300-meter long cable stayed bridge over the Beas river.
This expressway will connect the major religious places of the Sikh community, the Golden Temple, Sultanpur Lodhi Gurdwara in Kapurthala district, Goindwal Sahib Gurdwara, Khandur Sahib Gurdwara, Gurdwara Darbar Sahib (Taran Taran) till Mata Darbar Vaishno Devi in Katra.
The work of 50 km, four-lane Amritsar bypass being built at a cost of Rs 1,475 crore is in progress.
With its construction, there will be better connectivity from Tarn Taran to the Amritsar airport. This bypass will prove effective in solving the traffic problem of Amritsar.
This route will improve the connectivity, transportation and infrastructure of Amritsar.
(IANS)
