PM Modi inaugurates Bundelkhand Expressway, completed eight months before deadline; here's all you need to know

Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Bundelkhand Expressway on Saturday. The expressway was built eight months before its deadline.The construction of the 296-km expressway began on 29 February 2020 and was scheduled to be finished by January 2023. "Bridging the gap"The expressway runs from Chitrakoot to Etawah in Uttar Pradesh. The road will cater to the Bundelkhand region that is divided between the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, situated along the southwestern edge of UP.According to News18, the Bundelkhand Expressway will supplement nodes of the Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor announced by the Government of India in February 2018. It is being developed by the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA).The entire cost of the project is expected to be Rs 15,000 crore. However, the Adityanath government has saved Rs 1,132 crore, which is nearly 12.72 per cent of the originally estimated cost, through e-tendering.Key featuresThe four-lane expressway is expandable to six-lane in the future, has 13 interchange points, and will connect seven districts of the state.Starting from near Bharatkoop at Jhansi-Prayagraj National Highway Number-35 in Chitrakoot, the expressway will end near the village Kudrail in Etawah on Agra-Lucknow expressway.The total length of the road is 296.07 km and it will connect seven districts of Uttar Pradesh – Chitrakoot, Banda, Mahoba, Hamirpur, Jalaun, Auraiya, and Etawah.The expressway will also cross rivers like Bagen, Ken, Shyama, Chandawal, Birma, Yamuna, Betwa, and Sengar.A total of four railway over bridges are proposed on the expressway. Another 14 large bridges, six toll plazas, seven ramp plazas, 266 small bridges, and 18 fly overs will also come up on the expressway.Better connectivityConsidered to be one of the most backward areas of the country, Bundelkhand will be directly connected to the national capital through the Agra-Lucknow Expressway and Yamuna Expressway.It is expected to reduce the travel time between Delhi and Chitrakoot to just six hours.The Bundelkhand Expressway is crucial to the success of the upcoming defence corridor in Uttar Pradesh. Work on an industrial corridor has also begun in the Banda and Jalaun districts.With inputs from agencies  Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.