Purvanchal Expressway is a 340.8 km long, 6-lane wide (expandable to 8) access-controlled expressway in the state of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The expressway connects Chand Saray village near Gosainganj in

Lucknow district Lucknow district is a district located in the state of Uttar Pradesh in northern India. The city of Lucknow is the district headquarters and the district is part of Lucknow Division. It also is the capital of Uttar Pradesh Lucknow is Bounded on ...

with Haydaria village on NH-31 in

Ghazipur district Ghazipur district is a district of Uttar Pradesh state in northern India. The city of Ghazipur is the district headquarters. The district is part of Varanasi Division. The region of Ghazipur is famous mainly for the production of its unique ros ...

. It is developed by the

Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority The Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) is an authority set up in 2007 by the Government of Uttar Pradesh to develop expressway projects in the state. The headquarters of UPEIDA is located at Paryatan Bhawan in ...

(UPEIDA). The Purvanchal Expressway has a 3.2 km long

airstrip An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

at Akhalkiri Karwat village near Kurebhar in

Sultanpur district Sultanpur district is a district in the Awadh region of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. This district is a part of Faizabad division (officially ''Ayodhya division'') in Uttar Pradesh. The administrative headquarters of the district is Sul ...

for emergency landing of aircraft. The construction work was started by the UPEIDA on 10 October 2018 and was inaugurated and opened to the public on 16 November 2021. The project was announced and laid down by the then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh

Akhilesh Yadav Akhilesh is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Akhilesh Das (1961–2017), educationist, professor, Indian politician and philanthropist * Akhilesh K. Gaharwar (born 1982), Indian academic and Professor at Texas A&M University * ...

as Lucknow-Azamgarh-Ballia Samajwadi Purvanchal Expressway in May 2015. Later, route was changed to Lucknow-Azamgarh-Ghazipur by the

Yogi Adityanath Yogi Adityanath (born on 5 June 1972 as Ajay Singh Bisht),

government, and upon acquisition of around 95% of required land,

foundation stone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over time ...

of Purvanchal Expressway was laid on 14 July 2018 by Prime Minister

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...

. With a total project value of ₹22,494

crore A crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes ten million (10,000,000 or 107 in scientific notation) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. It is written as 1,00,00,000 with the local 2,2,3 style of digit group separators (one lakh is e ...

, including the land acquisition cost, the Expressway is India's longest expressway. The expressway is to be linked with

Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic t ...

–

Azamgarh Azamgarh is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the headquarters of Azamgarh division, which consists of Ballia, Mau and Azamgarh districts. Azamgarh is situated on the bank of Tamsa River (Tons). It is located east of the st ...

highway through a separate link road. UPEIDA is also constructing the

Gorakhpur Link Expressway Gorakhpur Link Expressway is an under-construction long, 4-lane wide (expandable to 6) expressway in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It will connect Jaitpur village on NH-27 in Gorakhpur district with Salarpur village on Purvanchal Expre ...

, which will connect Jaitpur village in

Gorakhpur district Gorakhpur district is one of the 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh state in northern India. This district is a part of the Gorakhpur division. The city of Gorakhpur, or Gorakhpur is the administrative headquarters of this district and Gorakhpur divi ...

with Purvanchal Expressway at Salarpur village in

Azamgarh district Azamgarh district is one of the three districts of Azamgarh division in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Etymology The district is named after its headquarters town, Azamgarh. Azam, a son of Vikramajit, founded the town in 1665. Vikramajit ...

. Upon the completion of 17 km long, 4-

lane In road transport, a lane is part of a roadway that is designated to be used by a single line of vehicles to control and guide drivers and reduce traffic conflicts. Most public roads (highways) have at least two lanes, one for traffic in each ...

wide ''Buxar–Ghazipur Elevated Road'' (

Bharauli Bharauli may refer to: Places in Bihar, India * Bharauli, Bhojpur Bharauli is a village in Bhojpur district, Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , a ...

near

Buxar Buxar is a nagar parishad city in the state of Bihar, India bordering Uttar Pradesh. It is the headquarters of the eponymous Buxar district, as well as the headquarters of the community development block of Buxar, which also contains the ce ...

to Haydaria in

Ghazipur Ghazipur is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Ghazipur city is the administrative headquarters of the Ghazipur district, one of the four districts that form the Varanasi division of Uttar Pradesh. The city of Ghazipur also constitute ...

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

will be directly connected to

Arrah Arrah (also transliterated as Ara) is a city and a municipal corporation in Bhojpur district, India, Bhojpur district (formerly known as Shahabad district) in the Indian state of Bihar. It is the headquarters of Bhojpur district, located near ...

and

Patna Patna ( ), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

by Purvanchal Expressway and NH-922.

Route

The Purvanchal Expressway connects Chand Saray village near Gosainganj in

with Haydaria village on Mohammadabad–

highway ( NH-31) in

. It passes through 9 districts of

i.e. (from west to east)

Barabanki Barabanki is a city and a municipal board in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is administrative headquarters of Barabanki district. The city is about 30 km east of Lucknow, the state capital. It has a population of 146,831 with a dens ...

Amethi Amethi is a city situated in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is a major town of the Amethi district, in the Faizabad division. The Hanumangarhi temple is located in the heart of the town. Amethi was the 72 nd district of Uttar Pradesh w ...

, Sultanpur,

Ayodhya Ayodhya (; ) is a city situated on the banks of holy river Saryu in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Ayodhya, also known as Sāketa, Saketa, is an ancient city of India, the birthplace of Rama and ...

Ambedkar Nagar Ambedkar Nagar is a district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. This district is a part of Faizabad division (officially ''Ayodhya division'') in the Awadh region of the state. This district was established on 29 September 1995 by carvin ...

, Mau and

Entry/ Exits

The following entry/exit points are present in the expressway:

Construction

The UPEIDA divided the construction work of 340.8 km long Purvanchal Expressway into 8 packages, which were awarded to 5 different contractors. The design work was done by Egis India Consulting Engineers (Package 1 to 4) and Ayesa India (Package 5 to 8). 22 Flyovers, 7 Railway-over-bridges (ROB), 7 major bridges, 114 minor bridges, 6

Toll Plaza A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or ''toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented ...

s, 45 vehicular-underpasses (VUP), 139 Light VUP, 87 pedestrian underpass and 525 Box culverts has been constructed. Total construction cost (excluding the cost of Land) is around ₹11,216

s. Following is the list of contractors:

Inauguration

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at the inauguration site in the

C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 ...

and later touch and go exercise was also performed on the expressway by the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

(IAF). Indian Air Force fighter jets performed the 'touch and go' operation, under which 30 fighter planes touched the Purvanchal expressway airstrip and then took off. Fighter jets including Mirage 2000, AN-32, Jaguar, and Sukhoi performed touch and go operations and showcased a landing on the expressway. The Indian aircraft showcased tricolor in the sky.

Delhi–Lucknow–Patna connectivity

The Purvanchal Expressway is a part of

Government of Uttar Pradesh The Government of Uttar Pradesh (ISO: Uttar Pradesh Sarkār; often abbreviated as GoUP) is the subnational government of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh with the governor as its appointed constitutional head of the state by the President of I ...

's initiative to connect

with

in order to improve transportation facilities and trade & commerce activities in East UP and

. Upon the completion of 4-

wide Buxar–Ghazipur Elevated Road (

near

to Haydaria in

), people can also travel from

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

in Bihar via

Agra Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is ...

and

by using following route: Note: Union Minister

Nitin Gadkari Nitin Jairam Gadkari (; born 27 May 1957) is an Indian politician from Maharashtra who is the current Minister for Road Transport & Highways in the Government of India. He is also the longest serving Minister for Road Transport & Highways cur ...

announced on 28 August 2021 that the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

will construct

–

Expressway at an event in Arrah,

Status updates

*May 2015: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister

announces intention to take up the Lucknow-Ballia Expressway soon. *Oct 2015: Government of UP finalized the alignment out of three proposed alignment for expressway.

Detailed Project Report A project plan, according to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), is: "...a formal, approved document used to guide both ''project execution'' and ''project control''. The primary uses of the project plan are to document planning ass ...

(DPR) to be prepared in three months. * Nov 2015: The Lucknow–Azamgarh–Ballia Expressway renamed as Purvanchal Expressway. * Feb 2016: State Government allocated ₹1,500 crores for the expressway in the budget. * Dec 2016:

, then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh lays foundation stone of Lucknow-Azamgarh-Ballia Expressway on 22 December 2016. * Mar 2017:

Yogi Adityanath Yogi Adityanath (born on 5 June 1972 as Ajay Singh Bisht),

BJP The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...

became the new Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh on 19 March 2017. * May 2017:

Yogi Adityanath Yogi Adityanath (born on 5 June 1972 as Ajay Singh Bisht),

government cancels tenders issued by the previous

government, stating that currently only 40.17% of needed land is acquired. The fresh tenders will be issued, when at least 80% of the required land will be acquired. UP Government orders faster land acquisition. * Sep 2017: 60% land acquired at cost of ₹4,500 crore. Total land acquisition may cost up to ₹6,500 crore.

NITI Aayog The NITI Aayog (; abbreviation for National Institution for Transforming India) serves as the apex public policy think tank of the Government of India, and the nodal agency tasked with catalyzing economic development, and fostering cooperative ...

says the

Central Government A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or dele ...

may bear construction cost, if UP government bears the land acquisition cost. * Jan 2018: 85% land acquisition done, foundation stone to be laid in March 2018. * Apr 2018: 91% land acquired. Request for Proposal (RFP) document floated. * Jul 2018: On 14 July 2018,

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

laid the

of Purvanchal Expressway (Lucknow-Azamgarh-Ghazipur Expressway) at

. Tender awarded for road construction to 5 firms for 8 packages. * Oct 2018: Construction work started on 10 October for Package 2 to 8. * Nov 2018: Construction work started by Gayatri Projects on 24 November for Package-1. * Feb 2019: The

allocated ₹1,194

s in UP Budget 2019. * Jun 2019:

saves ₹620 crore in bidding process for Purvanchal Expressway. 10% of construction work has been completed. * Jul 2019: Proposal to extend the Purvanchal Expressway to

Ballia Ballia is a city with a municipal board in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Uttar Pradesh. The eastern boundary of the city lies at the junction of two major rivers, the Ganges River, Ganges and the Ghaghara River, Gh ...

. * Sep 2019: 97% of earth work completed. To check the progress of construction work without physical inspection, UPEIDA to launch mobile app soon. * Oct 2019: 20% of construction work is completed. * Apr 2020: Work resumed after being on-hold for nearly a month due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. * Aug 2020: 52% of construction work completed, as of 10 August. * Jun 2021: 90% of construction work and 928 out of total 934 structures completed as of 28 June. * Jul 2021: 95% of construction work and 930 out of total 934 structures completed as of 26 July. The deadline for construction work is October 2021. * Aug 2021: Union Minister

announced on 28 August 2021 that the

will construct

–

Expressway at an event in Arrah,

. * Sep 2021: On 10 September, CM

Yogi Adityanath Yogi Adityanath (born on 5 June 1972 as Ajay Singh Bisht),

confirmed to inaugurate the expressway in October 2021. 97% of construction work completed as of 20 September. *Nov 2021: The expressway was inaugurated by Prime Minister

on 16 November at an event in

. *May 2022: Toll collection starts at all

s with effect from 1 May 2022.

Controversies and Criticism

The first seasonal rains in October 2022 caused wide stretches of road caving deep in, some extending to even 15 feet deep. Accidents were reported at several places, with multiple injuries and damage to numerous cars garnering significant coverage in media. The much proclaimed dream project of

Yogi Adityanath Yogi Adityanath (born on 5 June 1972 as Ajay Singh Bisht),

, built over a whopping 22000 crore expense by the Yogi government and inaugurated by Prime Minister

in November 2021, faced subsequent backlash and criticism for the alleged irregularities and corruption in construction of the expressway which couldn't withstand the first few hours of rain within a year following its inauguration.

References

External links

* https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/11590441
Gayatri Projects

Apco Infratech

GR Infraprojects

PNC Infratech

Oriental Structural Engineers
{{Highways in India Expressways in Uttar Pradesh Transport in Lucknow Ghazipur district

Route

Entry/ Exits

Construction

Inauguration

Delhi–Lucknow–Patna connectivity

Status updates

Controversies and Criticism

See also

References

External links