The Yamuna Expressway, which connects the national capital Delhi with the world-renowned city of Agra that is home to the Taj Mahal, is one of the busiest expressways in north India. The Expressway, which starts from the Pari Chowk in Noida and culminates at Kuberpur in Agra, on the National Highway-2, has been a game-changer, as far as improving connectivity to several cities in Uttar Pradesh (UP) is concerned. The Yamuna Expressway also enables faster connectivity to UP’s capital Lucknow as it joins with the 302-km Agra Lucknow Expressway Project.
Plans are also in the making to connect the Yamuna Expressway with the Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE), also known as the Kundli-Ghaziabad-Palwal Expressway. To be built on 57 hectares of land, a cloverleaf interchange loop will directly connect from the upcoming Jewar Airport to Delhi-NCR via the EPE.
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Yamuna Expressway inception
Plans to build the expressway project, earlier called the Taj Expressway were announced by the then UP CM Mayawati in 2001. The move was aimed at reducing congestion on the NH-2 and reducing the travel time between Delhi and Agra by half.
Yamuna Expressway inauguration date
The then Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav inaugurated the six-lane access controlled Yamuna Expressway on August 9, 2021, through a video link from his Lucknow home. It took 47 months to build the Yamuna Expressway.
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Yamuna Expressway length, cities covered
The 165-km-long Yamuna Expressway runs from Greater Noida to Agra, crossing Aligarh and Mathura.
Yamuna Expressway impact of travel time
The Yamuna Expressway has reduced the travel time between Agra and Delhi to two-and-a-half hours.
Yamuna Expressway project cost
The construction cost of the Yamuna Expressway was Rs 13,300 crore.
Also read about the Delhi Mumbai Expressway
Yamuna Expressway owner
Note here that the Yamuna Expressway is a private highway, owned by the embattled Jaypee Infratech Limited (JIL).
Also read all about the Jaypee insolvency case
Yamuna Expressway speed limit
The speed limit on the Yamuna Expressway is 100 km/h.
However, in December 2022, Yeida decided to reduce the speed limit on the expressway from 100kmph to 80kmph for light vehicles and from 80kmph to 60kmph for heavy vehicles to prevent road accidents in the winter fog. The reduced speed limit came into effect from December 15, 2022, and will continue till February 15, 2023.
Yamuna Expressway security
While CCTVs are installed after every 5 kms on the Expressway to check speeding and rash driving, the Yamuna Expressway also has a highway patrol at every 25 kms.
Yamuna Expressway toll rate 2024
The owner of the Yamuna Expressway, Jaypee Infratech Limited, has started to collect toll through FASTag since June 15, 2021. Here is the toll rate list at the Yamuna Expressway from April 1, 2023:
| Type of vehicle | Toll tax in 2024 |
| Small cars/vans | Rs 437 |
| Light commercial vehicle | Rs 648 |
| Troller | Rs 2,729 |
Yamuna Expressway toll plazas
The Expressway has three toll plazas, at Jewar, Mathura and Agra.
It also has 68 cart track crossings, 35 underpasses, one railway bridge and one major bridge. The Yamuna Expressway also has 13 service roads for the local commuters to access it.
Yamuna Expressway route map
Source: Wikimaps
See also: All about Purvanchal Expressway route
Yamuna Expressway impact on real estate
Value of land along the 165-km Yamuna Expressway has undergone tremendous change since the mega infrastructure project was initiated. While boosting land rates, the Expressway has also started a real estate boom in areas along, with leading real estate developers announcing projects along the Yamuna Expressway. The Expressway has become the new hotspot of affordable housing in the national capital.
Yamuna Expressway has also remained a hotbed of economic activity since it became operational. To provide a further boost to the economic prospects of areas along the Expressway, the UP government has announced various other mega projects here like the Jewar Airport, the UP Film City project, the Toy Park, the Medical Device Park and the Leather Park. It has also recently unveiled plans to develop an Electronic Park for electronic devices and accessories along the Yamuna Expressway.
The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) also plans to develop a metro rail network along the Yamuna Expressway that will run from the proposed metro station at Pari Chowk to Yamuna Expressway Sector 18 and 20.
Yamuna Expressway Latest News
10,500 hectare manufacturing hub to come up along Yamuna Expressway
January 30, 2024: The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (Yeida) sanctioned a proposal to establish a 10,500-hectare urban centre along the Yamuna Expressway. The objective is to create a manufacturing hub that will spur job creation and foster new business ventures in the area. The Yeida is set to draft a comprehensive project report for this ambitious industrial endeavor and initiate land acquisition processes. This move comes in response to heightened investor interest in industrial land, driven by the upcoming Noida International Airport in Jewar.
Yamuna e-way to be linked with Bulandshahr
June 28, 2023: The Yeida has decided to build two new expressways and a rail link to connect the Chola Railway Station in Bulandshahr to Jewar, where the Noida International Greenfield Airport is being built.
No need to expand Yamuna e-way from 6 to 8 lanes: Jaypee
There is no need to turn the 6-lane Yamuna Expressway into an 8-lane road project, Jaypee Infratech Limited, the developer of the project, has told the Yamuna Authority. According to a report by Indian Express, JIL told the authority that the hourly traffic on the expressway was well below the prescribed passenger car unit, and 6 lanes were sufficient, even after factoring in an increase in traffic generated by the upcoming Jewar Airport.
Yamuna Authority CEO Arun Vir Singh, however, said he has reiterated his demand for 8-laning of the expressway, to handle the traffic after the operation of the Jewar International Airport. “I have written a letter again to them on March 3, 2023, reiterating our demands. Expansion of the expressway is required as per the DPR of the Jewar Airport,” he told Indian Express.
Yamuna Expressway to be expanded into 8 lanes
Yeida on January 10, 2023, directed Jaypee Infratech Limited to prepare a detailed project report to widen the Yamuna Expressway to 8 lanes from the existing 6 lanes.
“According to the concessionaire agreement, the toll operator has an obligation to widen the 6-lane-wide expressway to 8 lanes because the number of commuters has increased to 32,000 per day. When we realised that daily commuters have increased to 32,000, we told Jil to widen the expressway,” Yeida CEO Arun Vir Singh told The Hindustan Times.
Read our full coverage here.
FAQs
Where is Yamuna Expressway
The Yamuna Expressway is in Uttar Pradesh.
Yamuna Expressway project was implemented by which group?
The Yamuna Expressway was built by the Jaypee Group.
