New Delhi, May 27: India’s first green and smart expressway, the Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE) or the Kundli-Ghaziabad-Palwal (KGP) Expressway has been inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi today. The 135-km-long Eastern Peripheral Expressway which is estimated at a budget of Rs. 11,000 crore rupees, has been built in a record time of 17 months. Its foundation stone was laid by PM Modi in November 2015. Also Read - PM Modi To Address Nation Shortly Amid Rising COVID Cases | LIVE UPDATES
Touted to reduce pollution as well as ease the traffic movement while connecting Palwal, Gautam Budh Nagar, Faridabad and Ghaziabad with the Delhi-NCR region, here are 10 facts about the EPE or the KGP which gives it an edge over the other expressways. Also Read - Delhi's Gangaram Hospital Left With Just 8 Hours of Oxygen Supply, Kejriwal Says Serious Crisis Persists
Eastern Peripheral Expressway: 10 Facts that makes it a smart expressway:
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- Built in a record time of nearly 500 days, the Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE) has eight solar power plants having a capacity of 4000-kilo watt (4 MW).
- Goods vehicles from Gurugram, Faridabad, Noida and Ghaziabad will be diverted onto the Eastern Peripheral Expressway before it enters Delhi.
- Not only this, the EPE will help divert at least 2 lakh vehicles that passes through the national capital. As per the government, the commercial traffic entering Delhi would be reduced by 30%.
- The EPE has intelligent mechanisms and as such will have auto challans for over-speeding. Cameras mounted alongside the expressway will capture speed of vehicles. It will also have provisions of tolling only for the distance traveled.
- Video incident detection system, pavement management systems, warning devices, fibre optic network are some of the other facilities which would be available.
- The EPE will be functional from today onwards.
- There will be an police personnel deployed at all border entry points connecting Delhi with the neighbouring districts.
- The fully access controlled six-lane expressway has 406 structures and has four are major bridges, 46 minor bridges, three flyovers, seven inter-changes, 221 underpasses and eight road over bridges.
- Retail fuel outlets, rest rooms, motels, restaurants and shops are dotted alongside the Expressway.
- The Eastern Peripheral Expressway also has rainwater harvesting system and has 28 fountains along with 2.5 lakh trees.