KMP Expressway opens! 10 things you must know about the new route

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway or Western Peripheral Expressway (WPE) in Gurugram district, Haryana today, after nearly a decade long delay.

Following are a 10 things you must know about the KMP Expressway:

• The expressway covers an 83 kilometer stretch from Kundli to Manesar and 52 kilometer from Manesar to Palwal.
• The WPE, together with EPE (Eastern Peripheral Expressway), is expected to redirect thousands of heavy vehicles away from Delhi. From today onwards, vehicles moving from Northern India to Western and Southern India would be able to do so without passing through Delhi, thus reducing pollution in the region.
• The Western Peripheral Expressway was proposed in 2003 and was to be completed by 2009. The project missed several deadlines and faced difficulties related to acquisition of land. The work restarted in 2014 only after country's top court intervened.
• The WPE was initially planned as a four-lane expressway. It was later expanded to six lanes.
• The total cost of the expressway is Rs 9,000 crore. The sum of Rs 6,400 crore was spent on the expressway project and 3,846 acres of land was acquired at a cost of Rs 2,788 crore.
• The 6-lane expressway will have parking lots, refilling stations, police stations, a trauma centre, helipad, refreshment centres, and recreational facilities. An ambulance, a crane and a police patrol vehicle with a helpline number will be stationed in every 20 km for speedy response in case of accidents or emergencies.
• The expressway's Manesar-Palwal stretch has 32 agricultural underpasses, three intersections and four toll plazas. The Kundli to Manesar section would have 14 major/minor bridges, 56 underpass/agricultural vehicular underpasses, seven intersections and seven toll plazas.
• The WPE is designed such that the light vehicles can run at 120 km/h. For the heavy vehicles the speed limit is 100km/h.
• The expressway would cover as many as five districts, namely Sonipat, Jhajjar, Gurugram, Mewat and Palwal.
• To improve the visual look of the expressway two rows of shrubs will be planted in the median and two rows, on each side, of tress like neem, arjun, and sheesham would be planted near extreme end of row.

[Edited by: Udit Verma]