Agra–Lucknow Expressway

The Agra–Lucknow Expressway is a 302 km long, 6-lane wide (extendable to 8-lanes) access-controlled expressway constructed by the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA)[2] to reduce traffic in already congested roads and to reduce pollution and carbon footprint.[3] The expressway reduced the distance between the cities of Agra and Lucknow in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and is presently one of the India's longest operational expressways.

Agra–Lucknow Expressway
Agra Lucknow Expressway in red
Approaching-Yamuna01 Agra Lucknow Expressway (33198644271).jpg
A section of Agra-Lucknow Expressway
Route information
Maintained by UPEIDA
Length302.22 km (187.79 mi)
Existed21 November 2016[1]–present
Major junctions
West endHingot Kheria village, Agra district
East endSarosa Bharosa village, Lucknow district
Location
CountryIndia
StateUttar Pradesh
Districts
Highway system
State Highways in Uttar Pradesh

It was inaugurated on 21 November 2016 by then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav.[4][5] Light traffic commotion on the expressway began with government approval in the following December, and the full length of expressway was made accessible to public from Agra to Lucknow by the end of February 2017. It is widely seen as his dream project and the flagship model of development in the state, being the first of its kind to be completed in the shortest span of time.[6][7]

Overview

The cost of project was expected to be ₹15,000 crore (equivalent to ₹220 billion or US$2.7 billion in 2023)[8] but was completed in ₹13,200 crore (equivalent to ₹190 billion or US$2.4 billion in 2023) and in record time of 22 months.[3] It would cut travel time between Lucknow and Agra from 6 hours to 3:30 hours. The expressway is 6-lane wide (expandable to 8-lane in future) although the structures (major, minor bridges and underpasses) on the expressway are already being constructed as 8-laned to be in tune with the expanded width of the expressway in future.[9] It is proposed on minimum distance and minimal agricultural land formula and will be financed by the Government of Uttar Pradesh.[10] The Expressway will carry all public amenities via underpasses, service roads, provision for green belt, rest houses, petrol pumps, service centres, restaurants and four agricultural mandis for milk, potatoes, grains, fruits and vegetables.

Route & Exits
S.NoStationInter-station distance in kmChainage in km from Agra
1Agra0.0000.000
2Firozabad2424
3Shikohabad4570
4Etawah1787
5Kannauj80165
6Unnao85260
7Lucknow40302

This expressway is connected to Yamuna Expressway through the Agra Ring Road, and thus providing an express link between Greater Noida, NCR to Lucknow via Agra. It connects Agra and Lucknow via Shikohabad, Firozabad, Mainpuri, Etawah, Auraiya, Kanpur, Kannauj, Unnao and Lucknow. The expressway will start at village Etmadpur Madra near Agra and will end at village Sarosa Bharosa near Mohan Road, Lucknow.[11]

Rest Areas

These are given below in direction of travel, as notably different from non-expressway custom, services on one side of the road are only meant for travelers for that side of the direction of travel, so only services created on left of the road are available to you but not the same available while traveling in other direction, usually, a similar set of service is created on other side of road at same spot or within few km. of other side facility.

  • Eastbound (Agra to Lucknow) - There are two rest areas while going east:

1) About 100 km from Agra Toll Entrance

2) At 219 km from Agra Toll Entrance

  • Westbound (Lucknow to Agra) - These rest areas are available while going west:

1) At 105 km milestone from Lucknow toll entrance.

2) At 205 km milestone from Lucknow toll entrance.

Toll rates

The toll rates applicable for the Agra Lucknow Expressway (as of January 2018) is given in the table below:

Vehicle Type (sourikh to Lucknow)


Rate

(in ₹)

Car, jeep, van or light motor vehicles 600
Light commercial vehicle or mini bus 930
Bus and truck 1,870
Heavy construction work machine and multi-axle vehicle (3 to 6) 2,875
Over-sized vehicle (7 and above axles) 3,680
Motorcycles (2-wheeler) 295

Construction
Agra Lucknow Expressway

The construction work of 302 km long Agra–Lucknow Expressway was divided into 5 packages. The list of contractors is as follows:[12][13]

Sr. No Package Length (km) Contractor
1. Agra–Firozabad 56 PNC Infratech
2. Firozabad–Etawah 62 Afcons Infrastructure
3. Etawah–Kannauj 57 Nagarjuna Construction Company
4. Kannauj–Unnao 64 Afcons Infrastructure
5. Unnao–Lucknow 63 Larsen and Toubro

Greenfield Project

The Agra-Lucknow Expressway is considered to be a Greenfield project as there were no work constraints of existing buildings or infrastructure. Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) purchased almost 3,127 hectares of land without a murmur of dissent and decided to pay four times the circle rates (CR) to the land owners in rural areas and twice the CR in urban parts, as purchase cost. The rest of land was acquired through land acquisition method[14]

Emergency Airstrip

Bangarmau Emergency Airstrip (Unnao district) 26.919334°N 80.253053°E / 26.919334; 80.253053

Controversy

It was alleged that some of the 3,500 hectare of land that was purchased for the route were artificially inflated in price by officials who then received kickbacks from the landowners. Lands that were in fact farmland were listed as residential, which gave them a higher value.[18]

Status updates
As of early March 2017, one side of the rail over bridge at Bhadan is still under construction
  • Nov 2013: No developers bid for this ₹9,000 crore project on a "build, own, operate and transfer" basis.[19] Exclusion of provision for free land parcels across the expressway to developer was the main concern among participating developer companies for keeping them away from project.
  • Jun 2014: Government of Uttar Pradesh decided to execute this project through state government financing, rather than private vendor financed basis, without provision for free land parcels across the expressway to developer companies. The Government of Uttar Pradesh invited bids in 5 packages for the Agra-Lucknow Expressway. Following this, 24 companies submitted their applications for 5 different patches of the expressway.
  • Aug 2014: Through the bidding process developers are finalized who will be executing each of five sections simultaneously.
  • Sep 2014: 50% of the land required for the project is already acquired.[20]
  • Nov 2014: Foundation stone of Agra-Lucknow Expressway laid on 23 November 2014 by Mulayam Singh Yadav at an event in Hingot Kheria, Agra district.[21] Around 7,000 acres acquired for this 15,000 Crores project. The target for the completion of the project is set to 22 months.[22]
  • May 2015: Work on two major bridges on Yamuna and Ganga river started.[23] UP Chief Secretary, Alok Ranjan said that the expressway would be operational by the end of October 2016.[24]
  • Nov 2016: The expressway was inaugurated on 21 November 2016 by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.[25]
  • Dec 2016: The expressway was partially opened to public from Lucknow till Shikohabad. As of 23 December 2016, only light vehicles were allowed to pass the stretch.[26]
  • Feb 2017: The expressway is opened to the public from Lucknow till Agra on 23 February 2017, but still road construction is happening at some places.
  • Jan 2018: Toll collection starts by authorities wef 19 January 2018.[27]
  • Aug 2018: A 20 metre deep road caved-in at Wazidpur village near Dauki in Agra district. It's contractor PNC Infratech Ltd. blamed poor maintenance for this accident.[28][29]

See also

References
  1. Bhat, Aditya (14 November 2016). "Agra-Lucknow expressway inauguration to see touchdown of 8 IAF combat jets". International Business Times. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  2. "Agra to Lucknow Access Controlled Expressway (Green Field) Project". UPEIDA. Archived from the original on 12 July 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  3. Chauhan, Arvind (13 November 2016). "8 IAF fighter jets to touch down Agra-Lucknow Expressway/ Taj Expressway on Nov 21". The Times of India. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  4. "Driving through fast lane of progress". The Hindustan Times. 3 February 2017.
  5. "IAF jets touch down for opening of Agra-Lucknow Expressway". Deccan Chronicle. Press Trust of India. 21 November 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  6. "Eight fighter jets to land on Agra-Lucknow expressway/ Taj Expressway". Business Insider. Times News Network. 14 November 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  7. Som, Vishnu (21 November 2016). "6 Jets Touch Down For Opening Of Agra-Lucknow Expressway, India's Longest". NDTV. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  8. Rawat, Virendra Singh (20 May 2015). "Agra-Lucknow Expressway to be operational by Oct 2016". Business Standard. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  9. "Lucknow-Agra e-way structures to be expanded up to eight lanes". The Times of India. Times News Network. 20 May 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  10. Singh, Priyanka (25 June 2014). "UP government plans to develop industrial zones at 43 stations of eastern dedicated freight corridor". The Times of India. Times News Network. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  11. "Govt to rope in Spanish co for Lko-Agra expressway". The Times of India. Times News Network. 29 January 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  12. Khan, Atiq (14 August 2014). "Decks cleared for Agra-Lucknow expressway". The Hindu. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  13. "Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with 5 contractors for Agra-Lucknow Expressway". Dainik Bhaskar.
  14. Mathur, Swati (28 May 2015). "Land acquisition: Modi to learn a lesson from Akhilesh". The Times of India. Times News Network. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  15. "Agra-Lucknow Expressway: India's longest greenfield expressway reduces travel time between Delhi-Lucknow to 6 hours; 10 facts to know". Financial Express. 21 November 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  16. "Eight fighter jets to land on Agra-Lucknow expressway". Business Insider. Times News Network. 14 November 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  17. Chauhan, Arvind (22 May 2015). "IAF successfully test-lands Mirage on Yamuna e-way". The Times of India. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  18. "Lucknow-Agra Expressway project under Yogi Adityanath govt's scanner". The Times of India. Press Trust of India. 21 April 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  19. "No bidders for Akhilesh 's Lucknow-Agra expressway project". Hindustan Times. 13 November 2013. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  20. Seth, Maulshree (12 September 2014). "Govt reduces Lucknow-Agra Expressway deadline by 6 months". The Indian Express. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  21. "Mulayam Singh Yadav laid the foundation stone of Agra-Lucknow Expressway". Zee News. 23 November 2014.
  22. "Agra-Lucknow expressway's foundation laid, to be done in 22 months". Business Standard. Indo-Asian News Service. 23 November 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  23. Mishra, Subhash (21 May 2015). "Independent body to monitor UP projects". The Times of India. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  24. Rawat, Virendra Singh (20 May 2015). "Agra-Lucknow Expressway to be operational by Oct 2016". Business Standard. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  25. Som, Vishnu (21 November 2016). "6 Jets Touch Down For Opening Of Agra-Lucknow Expressway, India's Longest". NDTV. Archived from the original on 21 November 2016.
  26. "AGRA-LUCKNOW EXPRESSWAY THROWN OPEN TOR PUBLIC". The Pioneer. 24 December 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  27. "UP Government Fixes Toll Rates For Agra-Lucknow Expressway". NDTV. Press Trust of India. 16 January 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  28. "Agra-Lucknow Expressway road cave-in, firm behind its construction was given bonus for beating deadline". News 18. 1 August 2018.
  29. "SUV falls into Ditch, then rescue botch-up. Watch". NDTV. 1 August 2018.
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