Completion of Delhi-Meerut expressway delayed again
The completion of the Delhi-Meerut expressway has been further postponed to March 2018, an official has said. The official added that 15% of the construction work in segment one has been finished but the bidding process for the second construction package has not been completed yet. The Delhi-Meerut Expressway will reduce travel time from two hours to around 45 minutes. 
With the slow progress of Delhi-Meerut expressway construction, the completion date of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's prestigious project has been further pushed back to March, 2018.National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has divided the 90 km stretch starting from Nizamuddin bridge in the outer ring road in New Delhi to Meerut bypass into three zones. With just one year left for completing the project, the highway authority is not yet done with the bidding process for the second construction package covering 30 km.According to a top official in NHAI, there are four bidders for the construction the expressway but the final allotment for the construction is not decided yet.The delay in completion of the bidding process for the package II led to delay in construction. The official however, said that the construction of package I and two has been initiated."We have completed 15% of the construction work in segment one starting from Nizamuddin bridge along the NH 24 towards Dasna in Ghaziabad and preliminary construction of the package III started recently," the official said.The project is also aimed at expediting the improvement of infrastructure in Uttar Pradesh and in reducing the time and cost of travel, particularly for heavy traffic, plying between 'Delhi-Meerut' Uttar Pradesh Border to Dasna section on National Highway-24.The Delhi-Meerut Expressway would be an access controlled highway and 31 traffic signals have been removed from the stretch. At present, commuters spend a minimum of two hours on road With the completion of this expressway, commuters will be able to reach their destination within 45 minutes to one hour of time.