Haryana border to airport in 20 mins: Boost to economy, decongestion on cards as UER-II opens in Delhi

The inauguration was attended by Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta.

By: Express News Service

New Delhi | Updated: August 18, 2025 02:37 PM IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Saini review the Delhi section of the Dwarka Expressway and the Urban Extension Road-II (UER-II), during an inauguration ceremony, in New Delhi. (PTI Photo)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated two key national highway projects in the Capital — the Delhi section of the Dwarka Expressway and a major stretch of the Urban Extension Road-II (UER-II). The projects, developed at a combined cost of nearly Rs 11,000 crore, are aimed at easing congestion in the city, boosting connectivity with nearby cities and creating economic opportunities.

The 66-km Alipur to Dichaon Kalan stretch of UER-II, which has a total length of 75.71 km, has been now opened to the public, along with new links to Bahadurgarh and Sonipat. Envisioned as the city’s third Ring Road, the UER-II is expected to divert traffic from Inner and Outer Ring Roads and reduce pressure on congested points such as Mukarba Chowk, Dhaula Kuan and National Highway-9.

Constructed using 10 lakh metric tonnes of inert material from the Bhalswa and Ghazipur landfills, it will provide direct connectivity to Outer Delhi areas such as Narela, Bawana, Mundka and Najafgarh. UER-II is helping to free Delhi from its garbage mounds, said the PM. It is also expected to reduce travel time between Singhu Border to the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport from two hours to 40 minutes. Similarly, it reduces travel time to the airport from other parts of the city.

According to officials, the opening of the UER II will provide direct access to Bahadurgarh and Sonipat, improve connectivity to industrial hubs, and facilitate faster movement of goods across the National Capital Region.

On Saturday, thanking the PM, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said that the UER II will emerge as the backbone of high-speed connectivity, linking Delhi not just with the National Capital Region (NCR) but with the entire country. Travelling to Chandigarh, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Jaipur and even Mumbai will become faster and more convenient, she said.

Meanwhile, the 10.1-km Delhi section of the Dwarka Expressway — built at a cost of about Rs 5,360 crore — which was also opened on Sunday will provide multi-modal connectivity to Yashobhoomi, the Delhi Metro’s Blue Line and Airport Express Line, the upcoming Bijwasan railway station, and the Dwarka bus depot.

It will also decongest NH-48 by providing an alternative route to the existing Delhi-Gurgaon highway. The expressway also has an eight-lane wide tunnel, which is 3.6 km long.

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The expressway’s Delhi portion has been divided into two packages: 5.9 km from Shiv Murti intersection to the Road Under Bridge at Dwarka Sector-21, and 4.2 km from Dwarka Sector-21 to the Delhi-Haryana border. The Haryana section of the expressway, about 19-km long, was inaugurated by the Prime Minister in March 2024.

Sunday’s inauguration was attended by Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini.

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