PM Modi inaugurates 594-km Ganga Expressway connecting Meerut to Prayagraj

PRime government minister Narendra Modi on midweek inaugurated the 594-km-long Ganga pike, 1 of the rural area’s longest high-speed corridors, connecting Meerut to Prayagraj and aimed at transforming connectivity across Uttar Pradesh.The expressway, developed as a six-lane corridor with provision for expansion to eight lanes, is expected to significantly reduce travel time while enabling faster, safer and more efficient movement of people and goods across the state. Designed for a speed of up to 120 kmph, the project is being seen as a major boost to infrastructure-led growth.Officials said the expressway will enhance connectivity across 12 key districts - Meerut, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Amroha, Sambhal, Badaun, Shahjahanpur, Hardoi, Unnao, Rae Bareli, Pratapgarh and Prayagraj - while strengthening economic linkages between western and eastern Uttar Pradesh.Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, in a post on X, said the state’s development journey would gain fresh momentum with the inauguration of the expressway from Hardoi. He described the project as a “lifeline” connecting villages, farmers, entrepreneurs and youth, adding that it would help accelerate development and bridge regional gaps.Union minister and BJP’s Uttar Pradesh president Pankaj Chaudhary also welcomed the inauguration, calling it a landmark infrastructure project and a major step toward modernising the state’s road network.According to officials, the Prime Minister arrived in Hardoi around 11 am, inaugurated the expressway, visited an exhibition by the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA), planted saplings and addressed a public gathering before departing later in the day.A key feature of the expressway is a 3.2-km-long airstrip near Shahjahanpur designed for emergency landing of Indian Air Force aircraft. The corridor is also equipped with modern safety and traffic systems, including an Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS), CCTV surveillance, emergency call boxes, ambulances and regular patrolling units.The project, built under a public-private partnership model, will also host integrated manufacturing and logistics clusters along the route. These will include warehouses, cold storage facilities and food processing units, aimed at boosting agricultural marketing, attracting investment and generating employment.The Ganga Expressway will be linked with other major corridors such as the Purvanchal, Agra-Lucknow, Bundelkhand and Gorakhpur Link expressways, creating a vast, interconnected road network across the state.Authorities said the project is expected to play a crucial role in driving industrial growth, improving logistics efficiency and supporting Uttar Pradesh’s ambition of becoming a trillion-dollar economy.