The fresh 67-km access-controlled highway connects Bandikui to the Jaipur Ring Road. It shortens the route by 20 km and eliminates the need to exit at Dausa and use the slower NH-21. This development is part of a broader plan to ease traffic and improve road safety between two major cities.
New route eases pressure on existing highway
At present, vehicles from Delhi, Gurgaon, and Faridabad leave the expressway at Dausa. They then switch to NH-21, a four-lane road that winds through towns and villages, with a maximum speed limit of 100 kmph. This makes the journey slower and prone to delays.
With the new Bandikui link, drivers will no longer need to make these transitions. The full stretch—from the DND Flyway in Delhi to Jaipur—will become seamless once the new section opens.
ROB section pending; temporary diversion likely
While most of the construction is complete, one part remains. A rail overbridge on the Delhi-Ahmedabad line is still under work.
“The access-controlled highway is complete except one carriageway of rail over bridge (ROB) on Delhi-Ahmedabad railway section, which is expected to be complete by May-end. Efforts are on to see if traffic can be allowed by last week of next month by creating a small diversion for this one-km stretch,” said a senior NHAI official.
Extra checks before final clearance
NHAI chairman Santosh Yadav has warned against rushing the opening. At a recent summit, he urged engineers to thoroughly inspect stretches before allowing public use.“We are building high-speed corridors and these get inaugurated. There should be no deficiency. So, it’s necessary that field officers and authority engineers drive on these stretches multiple times before giving the certificate to allow traffic. You must see whether it is really ready for operation. We can’t afford to have a situation where after inauguration there are potholes and then complaints. We would prefer a little delay to address all deficiencies before opening,” Yadav said.
Monsoon lessons prompt tighter controls
Past complaints during the rainy season have pushed the authority to act. Roads that once turned treacherous during monsoons are now under tighter scrutiny.
NHAI has asked field staff to complete all preventive maintenance ahead of time, especially on the Delhi-Mumbai expressway. The aim is to avoid repeats of previous years, when poor road conditions during monsoon months drew criticism from commuters and the media alike.
Commuters from Noida, Ghaziabad to benefit by December
Another major improvement is on the horizon. By December, the first nine-km stretch of the DND Flyway-KMP interchange on the Delhi-Mumbai expressway is expected to become operational. This will offer a smooth route to Jaipur for those travelling from Noida, Ghaziabad, and East Delhi.
Once both links are complete, the 260-km stretch from DND Flyway to Jaipur via Bandikui can be covered without breaks. The changes are part of a larger vision to improve intercity travel speed while reducing pressure on existing routes.
