New Delhi, Nov 19: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated the Western Peripheral Expressway, also known as Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway in Gurugram. The 136-kilometres-long KMP Expressway or the Western Peripheral Expressway has been built by the Haryana government. The Expressway has been built at a cost of Rs. 1,863 crore and was supposed to be completed by 2009 but missed several deadlines.
Once the KMP Expressway will be fully operational, vehicles going from North India to the Western and Southern parts of the country would be able to do so without entering into Delhi.
Missing deadlines multiple times, the authorities took 15 year to complete the project. However, once opened for commuters, the expressway is expected reduce the number of trucks entering Delhi, and thus bringing down the pollution. However, the cost of land acquisition, utility shifting and project preparation, etc for both the Eastern Peripheral Expressway and Western Peripheral Expressway (KMP Expressway) was borne by the Delhi government, Uttar Pradesh government and Haryana government in the ratio of 50:25:25 respectively. The Western Peripheral Expressway or Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway, is an 135.6 km (84.3 mi)-long Expressway in Haryana. Along with the Eastern Peripheral Expressway, the Western Peripheral Expressway is expected to divert more than 50,000 heavy vehicles away from Delhi. The expressway has eight small and six big bridges, four railway over bridges and 34 underpasses. The total length of the expressway is 135km, of which the Manesar-Palwal stretch was inaugurated by Union minister Nitin Gadkari last year. The loop will be completed with the opening of the crucial 84 km-long Kundli-Manesar section. The expressway is expected to divert heavy polluting vehicles from Delhi. The speed for light vehicles has been kept at 120 Kmph while for heavy vehicles the design speed is 100 Kmph. Earlier, the Prime Minister had inaugurated the Eastern Peripheral Expressway or the Kundli-Ghaziabad-Palwal (KGP) Expressway on May 27 in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh.