Noida: National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will build a 31-kilometre elevated expressway along the Yamuna Pushta road, linking east Delhi near Okhla barrage to Greater Noida’s Chi IV, creating a bypass to the Noida Expressway for commuters travelling to Noida International Airport. Traffic on the expressway is expected to rise sharply as flight operations pick up at the new airport, which is projected to handle 1.2 crore passengers annually in its initial years.UP govt had earlier assigned the project to the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA), which conducted a physical inspection jointly with the irrigation department to assess the feasibility of developing a 10-lane corridor by widening the existing 11-kilometre, two-lane embankment road — which currently has two lanes on each side with floodplain to its right.NHAI had initially stepped back from the project citing procedural delays. However, Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari indicated in July last year that the agency would consider developing an elevated road along the Yamuna Pushta.Noida Authority general manager AK Arora confirmed on Tuesday that NHAI had taken charge and that the eight-lane corridor would be completed within two years.The corridor is proposed to include three loops to provide connectivity to areas along the route. NHAI’s consultant is preparing a detailed project report (DPR) even as the three development authorities — Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna — are simultaneously finalising land acquisition requirements.The elevated road will originate near the Okhla barrage in Sector 94 and run parallel to the Yamuna embankment through sectors 95, 125 to 135 — a stretch that encompasses corporate and educational campuses and residential highrises — before merging with Yamuna Expressway.Arora said a multi-agency meeting chaired by additional CEO Satish Pal on Monday examined all aspects of the alignment. “The NHAI consultant proposed the alignment from Noida Sector 94 to Chi-IV near Gautam Buddha University,” he said. An earlier proposal to extend the corridor to the DND Flyway was dropped after authorities identified the Okhla Bird Sanctuary and Dalit Prerna Sthal as obstacles along that stretch.The Pushta corridor is one of three linked projects intended to create a high-speed alternative to the Noida Expressway. Noida Authority is separately building the 5.5-kilometre, six-lane Chilla Elevated Road, which is expected to open by July 2027, connecting the Chilla regulator near Mayur Vihar with Mahamaya Flyover in Noida. The Authority is also planning a 1.4-kilometre elevated link to bridge the gap from Mahamaya Flyover to Pushta Road with a proposed 1.4-km connector. Together, the three projects are designed to provide seamless high-speed connectivity between Delhi, Noida, Greater Noida and Jewar.
