Overview
- Officials now expect the 210-km, ₹11,868.6 crore project to open to the public by February 2026, beyond earlier targets of December 2024 and October 2025.
- The first phase from Akshardham to Khekra has been ready for over six months, with most of the second and third phases near completion and phase four in final safety and finishing stages near Dehradun.
- An NHAI official said remaining tasks such as protection near the Daat Kali temple, installation of mobile towers, and tunnel finishing are slated to be completed in November.
- The corridor is designed to cut Delhi–Dehradun travel time from about six hours to roughly two-and-a-half hours and will connect to the Delhi–Mumbai and Eastern Peripheral expressways as well as routes to Haridwar and Roorkee.
- The project features a 12-km elevated stretch through Rajaji National Park with six animal underpasses and has drawn scrutiny over tree-felling, with an NGT fine issued for incomplete afforestation details.