Urban Extension Road-II will be a game changer for Delhi — it will reduce traffic and pollution: Nitin Gadkari

The new Urban Extension Road-II connecting North Delhi with the Delhi-Jaipur highway will be open to public later this year. The key road is expected to help ease traffic congestion in the national capital and cut commute time to the airport to just 20 minutes from 2 hours.

Speaking to CNBC-TV8, Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari described Urban Extension Road-II (UER-II) as the "lifeline of Delhi".

“A majority of the traffic jam and pollution in Delhi is because of the traffic going from North India to South India via Delhi. UER-II will reduce the traffic jam, time as well as pollution,” Gadkari said.

According to Gadkari, UER-II will reduce time, traffic, pollution, and be a gamechanger for Delhi.

In addition to the UER-II project, Gadkari said the government has also completed two major initiatives worth Rs 20,000 crore for Delhi. This includes spending Rs 8,000 crore on the Delhi-Meerut highway and Rs 12,000 crore on the Delhi Peripheral Road.

Gadkari added that five more big and medium projects are in the pipeline, of which he expects 70-80 percent of the work to be completed by this December. One of his most ambitious plans is to make an e-highway from the starting point of UER-II to Jaipur. Under this plan, the last lane of the highway will be dedicated to electric buses, trolley buses, and e-trucks, creating an eco-friendly corridor that will benefit both the environment and the economy.