Delhi's 3rd Ring Road to open by August

Hindustan Times

13 hours ago

The six-lane Urban Extension Road-2 (UER-2), planned as Delhi's third Ring Road, is set to open by August, effectively cutting travel time from Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport to parts of south-west and north-west Delhi — and the Haryana border — by 40–60%, officials aware of the project have said.
Over 95% of the construction is complete, with sections passing through Najafgarh, Mundka and Alipur already operational. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), which is implementing the project, presented its progress status during a recent meeting between Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari and Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta and her cabinet colleagues.
According to officials, Delhi-NCR is currently seeing road infrastructure projects worth ₹34,589 crore underway across 594km, while another ₹23,850 crore has been earmarked for 128km of roadworks that are about to begin.
Originally conceived under the Delhi Master Plan Road 2021, UER-2 was later notified as a national highway to be readied in five construction packages. Spanning 76km — of which 54.21km lies in Delhi and 21.5km in Haryana — the ₹8,000 crore corridor is being funded by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) for its Delhi section and built by NHAI.
'The UER-2 will offer faster connectivity between Chandigarh, Gurugram and IGI Airport. It has also opened up access to previously underserved parts of Delhi such as Najafgarh, Mundka, Karala, Alipur, and Bawana, enhancing links to south Delhi, Noida, Faridabad, and major highways like NH-48,' a report from the Union road ministry, shared with the Delhi government, noted.
During the Lok Sabha campaign in January, Gadkari had highlighted the reuse of two million tonnes of legacy waste from Ghazipur landfill in UER-2's construction — a move that reduced the height of the landfill's trash mountain by seven metres.
In a related development, the underpass stretch of the Dwarka Expressway near IGI Airport — which connects with UER-2 — is nearing completion and expected to open in the next 15 days. The expressway will serve as a bypass to NH-48 and improve access between the airport, UER-2, Dwarka and Gurugram. It will also offer a direct link to Yashobhoomi in Sector 25, Dwarka.
'The Dwarka Expressway has significantly eased travel from parts of Delhi such as Mahipalpur, Dwarka, Vasant Kunj and Najafgarh to Gurugram and IGI Airport. The Haryana section was opened in March 2024, while the Delhi stretch, which includes a tunnel and underpasses, is likely to be operational by mid-June,' an official said.
The 28-km-long Dwarka Expressway, built at a cost of ₹8,611 crore, is now 98% complete.
Officials added that NHAI is increasingly using inert material recovered from legacy waste through biomining for road construction — including projects like the DND–Faridabad–Ballabhgarh–Sohna bypass and UER-II. The use of silt, stones, and construction debris is aimed at cutting landfill volume, conserving natural resources, lowering construction costs and reducing emissions.
The 28-km-long expressway, built at a cost of ₹8,611 crore, is now 98% complete.
Officials added that NHAI is increasingly using inert material recovered from legacy waste through biomining for road construction — including projects like the DND–Faridabad–Ballabhgarh–Sohna bypass and UER-II. The use of silt, stones, and construction debris is aimed at cutting landfill volume, conserving natural resources, lowering construction costs and reducing emissions.