One of India’s longest expressways is set to open next week. Initially no toll charges

340.8 km long this 6 lane expressway is the longest expressway of Uttar Pradesh.

Purvanchal Expressway will connect Chand Sarai village near Gosainganj in Lucknow district with Haidaria village located on NH-31 in Ghazipur district. It is being developed by the Uttar Pradesh Expressway Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA).

Purvanchal Expressway will pass through 9 districts of Uttar Pradesh (from west to east) namely Lucknow, Barabanki, Amethi, Sultanpur, Ayodhya, Ambedkar Nagar, Azamgarh, Mau and Ghazipur.

The foundation stone of Purvanchal Expressway was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 14 July 2018.

Purvanchal Expressway is to be connected to Varanasi-Azamgarh Highway through a separate link road. UPEIDA is also building the Gorakhpur Link Expressway, which will connect Jaitpur village in Gorakhpur district with the Purvanchal Expressway in Salarpur village in Azamgarh district. Upon completion of the 17 km long, 4-lane wide Buxar-Ghazipur elevated road (from Bharauli in Buxar to Hydaria in Ghazipur), Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh will be directly connected to Ara and Patna in Bihar by the Purvanchal Expressway and NH-922.

Purvanchal Expressway will also be used as an emergency runway for Indian Air Force aircraft like the Agra-Lucknow Expressway. This will allow fighter jets of the Indian Air Force to be used as an airstrip for emergencies.

Passengers using the Purvanchal Expressway will not have to pay any toll charges initially. The government hopes that it will get 202 crores annually as toll from this expressway. Toll rate per km and toll tax will be levied on movement from toll plazas at both ends.

The total project value of Purvanchal Expressway is 22,494 crore, which includes the cost of land acquisition.

The speed limit for vehicles has been fixed at 100 kmph.