A big positive development has come for commuters and office goers from Ghaziabad and Noida to Haryana, as the Faridabad-Noida-Ghaziabad (FNG) Expressway – a planned part of the Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE) – is expected to be operational by March 2018.
Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Pon Radhakrishnan, in a written reply, told the Lok Sabha: "The scheduled date of completion of EPE is March 2018 and the awarded cost of civil works is Rs 4,418 crore".
The Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE) project will decongest Delhi and commuters will be able to reach both cities in 30 minutes, without entering the Capital and the busy parts of Noida.
The six-lane FNG corridor is around 56 km long and will connect NH-9 (formerly NH-24) with NH-2, via Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Noida. A 20 km portion of expressway falls in Noida-Greater Noida region, where the Noida Authority had already started the construction in 2008. Around 90 per cent of the portion is complete, except for two flyovers and a Yamuna bridge between Noida and Faridabad.
So far, in the portion which falls under the Noida region, just two flyovers and one Yamuna bridge are delaying the project.
One flyover is at Vijyant Thapar Marg in Sector 88 and another at Noida-Greater Noida Expressway near Sector 142. The foundation of both these flyovers has been laid by the authority.
Traffic snarls during peak hours in Noida are very common as the construction work of the Metro, underpasses and elevated roads are carried out widely. After the construction work is completed, heavy vehicles will not need to enter Delhi to go to Haryana.
The 75-metre wide six-lane expressway will reduce the commuting time between Ghaziabad and Faridabad via Noida to just 15 minutes. Service lane on both sides of the expressway will also be constructed.