Gadkari, Adityanath review highway projects in UP, stress faster execution and road safety

Lucknow, Jul 13 (PTI) Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday said developing world-class road connectivity in Uttar Pradesh was among the Centre's top priorities, while Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath asserted that the state's expanding highway network would accelerate investment, industry, tourism and employment. The remarks came during a review meeting of major national highway and road infrastructure projects in the state. The meeting was attended by senior officials of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Uttar Pradesh government, according to an official statement. "Developing world-class road connectivity in Uttar Pradesh is our priority. The state has emerged as a major engine of the country's economic growth," Gadkari said, directing officials to expedite land acquisition, forest clearances, utility shifting and other statutory approvals to ensure timely completion of projects. Emphasising road safety, the Union minister said, "Equal attention should be paid to reducing accidents along with road construction. Every national highway project should incorporate safe design, scientific improvement of black spots, modern signage and strict adherence to road safety standards." Gadkari also advocated transplanting trees using modern technology instead of felling them for highway construction, saying development and environmental protection should go hand in hand. Adityanath said, "A modern road infrastructure is the foundation of a developed Uttar Pradesh. Better road connectivity will give fresh momentum to investment, industry, agriculture, tourism, trade and employment." The chief minister said the rapid expansion of road infrastructure would help the state achieve its goal of becoming a USD 1 trillion economy and expressed confidence that coordinated efforts by the Centre and the state would ensure timely completion of all national highway projects. According to the statement, officials informed the meeting that since 2014, about 10,204 km of national highway projects have been awarded in Uttar Pradesh, while construction of 9,329 km has been completed. Between April 2025 and May 2026, projects covering 606 km were sanctioned and 1,010 km of highways completed. Officials said investments of around Rs 1.94 lakh crore had been made in national highway projects in the state, including Rs 23,445 crore during the 2025-26 financial year. Gadkari appreciated measures taken by the Uttar Pradesh government to speed up project implementation, saying the Centre-state coordination had yielded positive results. The meeting reviewed several ongoing and proposed projects, including the Mathura-Bareilly-Sitarganj four-lane highway, Agra-Aligarh four-lane project, Agra-Gwalior-Jhansi-Nagpur Economic Corridor, Kanpur Ring Road, the six-lane connectivity project to Noida International Airport at Jewar, Moradabad-Kashipur highway, Ayodhya Ring Road, Ram Van Gaman Marg, Ram Janaki Marg and the proposed 742-km Shamli-Gorakhpur access-controlled corridor. Later in the day, speaking at the inauguration of the Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway, Gadkari said works on eight expressway projects worth Rs 1.23 lakh crore were underway in Uttar Pradesh, with the Delhi-Meerut Expressway already operational He announced that the tender for the Rs 7,000-crore Barabanki-Bahraich four-lane highway had been awarded and construction would begin shortly, while the Union Cabinet had recently approved the Rs 11,000-crore Kanpur-Bhopal six-lane economic corridor. The minister also said a Rs 4,600-crore greenfield six-lane Agra-Gwalior Expressway had been approved and would reduce travel time between the two cities from around three hours to one-and-a-half hours. Once linked with other highway projects, travel time between Gwalior and Delhi would come down from seven hours to around four hours, he said. Among other projects, Gadkari said work was progressing on the Agra-Aligarh greenfield four-lane highway, the 45-km Aligarh-Mathura highway, the Rs 22,000-crore Varanasi-Kolkata highway, the Rs 5,300-crore Ghazipur-Ballia greenfield four-lane highway, the Gorakhpur-Shamli greenfield corridor, the proposed Rs 35,000-crore Gorakhpur-Siliguri highway, the Mathura-Hathras highway, the Moradabad-Thakurdwara four-lane project, the Shahjahanpur-Hardoi highway, the Bareilly-Pilibhit-Sitarganj road, the Aligarh-Palwal four-lane highway and the Sonouli-Gorakhpur highway. He said several of these projects were at advanced stages of completion and would significantly improve connectivity, industrial growth and tourism, including access to the Buddhist circuit and Jim Corbett National Park. "When I first came here, I had said Uttar Pradesh's national highways would be like those in America. People may have found it difficult to believe then, but today I can confidently say we are building highways one after another that will match the best in the world," Gadkari said. Recalling an interaction at the event, he said an Indian-origin American had told him that India's national highways were now "better than those in America". The Union minister reiterated that there was no shortage of funds for national highway development. "People asking for projects may get tired, but we will not get tired of giving them. Money is not the constraint; the challenge is spending it fully," he said. Gadkari said his ministry had monetised assets worth about Rs 15 lakh crore and had an annual budget of around Rs 3.2 lakh crore for national highways. Inviting the Uttar Pradesh government to continue proposing projects, he assured that the Centre would extend full support for expanding the state's road infrastructure. PTI KIS NB NB