New Delhi–Dehradun corridor

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the Delhi–Dehradun Economic Corridor on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, in Dehradun. (pmindia.gov.in) The corridor is a 213-kilometer, six-lane, access-controlled highway built at a cost of more than ₹12,000 crore. The Prime Minister’s office said it will cut road travel between Delhi and Dehradun from more than six hours to about two and a half hours. (pmindia.gov.in) Before the inauguration, Modi is due to review the wildlife section near Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh at about 11:15 a.m., then inaugurate the full corridor at about 12:30 p.m. in Dehradun. (pmindia.gov.in) The highway runs through Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and the government has framed it as a route for both commuters and freight. A Press Information Bureau release from May 2025 said it is also meant to ease pressure on the National Capital Territory of Delhi and reduce traffic on the Delhi–Meerut Expressway and other connecting highways. (pmindia.gov.in) (pib.gov.in) The most unusual part of the project is the forest stretch near Rajaji National Park, where the road has been lifted above the ground so animals can keep moving underneath. The Prime Minister’s office said that section includes a 12-kilometer wildlife elevated corridor, one of the longest in Asia. (pmindia.gov.in) The same official note lists eight animal passes, two elephant underpasses of 200 meters each, and a 370-meter tunnel near the Daat Kali temple. The corridor also has 10 interchanges, three railway overbridges, four major bridges and 12 wayside amenities, along with an Advanced Traffic Management System for operations and safety. (pmindia.gov.in) A joint study by the National Highways Authority of India and the Wildlife Institute of India found that 18 wild species used a key underpass on the route. According to the government-backed study, camera traps recorded elephants, leopards, golden jackals, nilgai, sambar and spotted deer using the crossing infrastructure. (downtoearth.org.in) That study covered a 40-day period and used 150 camera traps and 29 acoustic recorders across the forested stretch between Ganeshpur and Asharodi. It logged 111,234 images in total, including 40,444 images attributed to 18 wild species, and recorded elephants using the corridor 60 times. (downtoearth.org.in) The government has also tied the road to pilgrimage and tourism traffic. A 2025 Press Information Bureau release said the expressway includes a spur toward Haridwar and connects with the Char Dham Highway network serving Uttarakhand’s hill towns and temple routes. (pib.gov.in) If the launch goes ahead as scheduled on April 14, the corridor will open as both a faster Delhi-to-Dehradun route and a test case for whether India can build high-speed highways through wildlife habitat with fewer animal collisions. (pmindia.gov.in) (downtoearth.org.in)