“6.5 hours? That’s so last season.”
Dehradun — Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways and Corporate Affairs, Harsh Malhotra, recently traded his office chair for a highway inspection vehicle as he personally surveyed the 210-km stretch of the much-anticipated Delhi-Saharanpur-Dehradun Expressway. The verdict? “On track, but no time to cruise. Let’s put the pedal to the metal!”
With NHAI officials in tow, the minister zipped through the under-construction zones, inspected progress, and diplomatically nudged the project team to “get a move on”—all in the name of making Delhi-to-Dehradun road trips less about backaches and more about back-to-back playlists.
Set to shrink the travel time from 6.5 hours to a breezy 2.5 hours, the ₹12,000 crore expressway starts from the bustling lanes of Akshardham, slices through Baghpat, Baraut, Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, and Saharanpur, and ends at Dehradun—hopefully before your playlist loops back to track one.
And for those worried about nature taking a backseat—think again. The expressway passes through Rajaji National Park via Asia’s longest elevated wildlife corridor (a whopping 12 km), so leopards and langurs can cross the road without needing to check traffic.
Minister Malhotra also mentioned the upcoming spur towards Haridwar and the link to the Char Dham Highway—because no pilgrimage should start with a honking contest on the Outer Ring Road.
NHAI officials have assured the remaining portions will be complete in 2–3 months, which means this monsoon might be the last one where Delhiites still say “Yaar, Dehradun jaana hai, lekin traffic ka scene kya hai?”
The Modi Government’s four-lane flex continues. If all goes as planned, the only thing standing between you and Dehradun’s momos will be deciding which playlist to hit for your two-and-a-half-hour expressway joyride.
