Expressway slashes Dehradun time

India is set to open the Delhi–Dehradun Economic Corridor on April 14, cutting the road trip to about 2.5 hours from roughly six. (pmindia.gov.in) Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the corridor in Dehradun on Monday, April 14, after reviewing its wildlife section in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, according to the Prime Minister’s Office. News reports put the route length at about 210 to 213 kilometers. (pmindia.gov.in) (indianexpress.com) The expressway has been built as a six-lane, access-controlled highway, with reports estimating the project cost at about Rs 12,000 crore. Indian Express reported a design speed of 100 kilometers per hour and seven interchanges along the route. (indianexpress.com) (ndtv.com) The road matters beyond one city pair because it links Delhi more quickly with Uttarakhand, including traffic headed toward Haridwar and the Char Dham pilgrimage circuit. A 2023 government release said a separate 51-kilometer greenfield road is being built to connect Haridwar to the corridor. (ndtv.com) (pib.gov.in) The project has also been pitched as a congestion reliever for roads out of Delhi into western Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Indian Express reported that it is expected to ease pressure on the Delhi–Meerut Expressway and other connecting highways. (indianexpress.com) A central feature is the 12-kilometer elevated wildlife corridor through the Rajaji landscape, built to let animals move below the highway instead of across traffic. The Prime Minister’s Office said Modi will review that section in Saharanpur before the inauguration event. (pmindia.gov.in) (pib.gov.in) The corridor has been in the works for years. A February 2021 government release said the Delhi-Saharanpur-Dehradun economic corridor would shorten the distance between the two cities from 235 kilometers to 210 kilometers and cut travel time from 6.5 hours to 2.5 hours once complete. (pib.gov.in) By mid-2025, road transport minister Nitin Gadkari said the remaining portions would be finished within two to three months, according to the Press Information Bureau. That timeline slipped, but the April 14, 2026 inauguration now puts the project into service ahead of the summer travel and pilgrimage season. (pib.gov.in) (pmindia.gov.in) If the launch goes ahead as scheduled on April 14, the corridor will turn one of north India’s longest routine hill-bound drives into a same-morning run. (pmindia.gov.in) (hindustantimes.com)