Ahmedabad-Dholera Expressway work progressing at rapid pace; likely to open in 2024

Source: Desh Gujarat

Rapid progress on Ahmedabad-Dholera Expressway; expected to be operational in 2024

Ahmedabad: The expressway that will link Ahmedabad with the smart city of Dholera is being built at a fast pace. The Ahmedabad-Dholera Expressway will reduce the travel time between the two cities to 40 to 45 minutes once it is completed and functional.

The expressway project, which costs Rs. 3600 crores, spans 109 kilometers. It is divided into 4 packages, with Packages 1, 2, and 3 being upgraded from 6-lane highways to 8 lanes, while Package 4 is planned as an 8-lane highway with the potential to expand to 12 lanes.

Several YouTube vloggers have recently explored the expressway project site and made a detailed video about the project. We present to you the findings from several vlogs about the progress of this project.

Package 4 covers a 38-kilometer-long section on a brownfield alignment. Construction work is going on as per the requirement for a 12-lane highway, but currently, the road will have 8 lanes. Earthwork is in progress, with a 2-lane road already functional. As you move toward Ahmedabad, the earthwork at the interchange is yet to start, but structures for underpasses connecting to this expressway are fully constructed.

Moving ahead, the brownfield alignment ends at an interchange near the Administration Cum Business Center for Dholera (ABCD). Travelers from the ABCD building will be able to access the expressway from the interchange situated here. After this interchange, the greenfield alignment starts, where earthwork is ongoing.

The 22.5-kilometer-long Package 3 will enable the connection of the expressway to Dholera Airport. An elevated path is being built in the package, with pillars already erected, and some pillars are even connected. Further along the road towards Ahmedabad, a vehicular underpass structure is ready to link the existing airport road with the expressway. Work is currently underway to construct the ramps near the underpass structure. Structures related to interchanges and underpasses are ready, while earthwork continues over this package.

As we move forward, Package 1 is almost ready. The earthwork is done; lanes are ready, and the remaining work involves plantation and lane marking. A canal passes through this area of the expressway, and the construction of the structure, including erected pillars, is completed with ongoing flooring work on the overpass.

Moving towards the entry point to Ahmedabad, construction work for the interchange is ongoing at the SP Ring Road within the city. Half of the circle at the interchange is undergoing earthwork, while the other half is nearly done, requiring only road leveling work.

Overall, the work is progressing at a fast pace, and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is likely to open some sections of the expressway by April 2024, with the aim of full operation by December next year.

One noteworthy aspect of this expressway is the utilization of waste processed at the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation-run Pirana Dump Yard in the embankment layer of the road on this expressway.