Patna : The long-awaited Gorakhpur Link Expressway is on the brink of opening, with authorities confirming that the 91.35-kilometre stretch will be operational within the next 15 days. The expressway, which connects Jaitpur village in Sahjanwa (Gorakhpur) to Salarpur on the Purvanchal Expressway in Azamgarh, is expected to dramatically reduce travel time between eastern Uttar Pradesh and major cities including Lucknow, Prayagraj, and Varanasi.
Once operational, vehicles will be permitted to travel at speeds of up to 120 kilometres per hour. Officials suggest the formal inauguration is likely to take place around May 15, pending final touches to riverbed stabilisation and service road works.
Earlier targeted for an April opening, the project was delayed due to unfinished soil work and river straightening at Kamhariya Ghat. These works have now been completed using geo-textile tubes and iron sheets, mitigating risks to the bridge approach.
The project includes a significant amount of infrastructure: 16 vehicle underpasses, 50 minor underpasses, 35 pedestrian underpasses, 7 flyovers, 34 bridges (7 major and 27 minor), and 2 toll plazas. A 600-metre overpass is under construction at Sikriganj, expected to take two more months, although vehicles will be allowed to use the expressway during this period.
The expressway is currently four lanes wide, with potential for future expansion to six lanes. Officials also revealed plans for an industrial corridor along the route.
Travel between Lucknow and Gorakhpur, currently taking around five hours, will be reduced to approximately three and a half hours. The new link is expected to bring major benefits to Gorakhpur, Sant Kabir Nagar, Ambedkar Nagar, and Azamgarh, improving access to larger economic centres including Agra and Delhi via the Purvanchal Expressway.
PP Verma, Executive Engineer of the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEDA), confirmed that all remaining work, including the service road in Sikriganj, would be completed within the next two weeks.
