Ganga Expressway
Ganga Expressway is an under-construction, long, 6-lane, greenfield expressway along the Ganges River connecting eastern and western boundaries of Uttar Pradesh state in India. It constitutes two phases, almost-completed Phase-1 Meerut-Prayagraj long, and under-construction Phase-2 ( extension entailing Spur-1 Upper Ganges Canal Expressway 110 km from Bulandshahr-Meerut to Haridwar route in the west and Spur-2 314 km Prayagraj-Ballia Expressway route in the east.
History
2007: Conception
In 2007, Ganga Expressway was initially proposed by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mayawati as Greater Noida–Ballia Expressway, but remained stalled.2019: Project revival
In 2019 the project was revived by the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who allocated the first installation of budget of ₹2,000 crores for the construction of Phase-1 in 2020. Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority is the government agency responsible for the project.2019-2026: Phase-1 construction
The total expected project cost in 2021 was ₹37,350 crores, including the land acquisition cost of around ₹9,500 crores. In 2019, the land acquisition commenced and progressed regularly, which was mostly completed by 2021 In 2021 the environmental clearance from Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change was obtained and Uttar Pradesh Cabinet approved ₹36,230 crore budget to build the expressway. On 18 December 2021, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone in Shahjahanpur, the construction work started in April 2022.UPEIDA divided the Phase-1 construction work into 12 packages to be constructed on Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Transfer Model. The list of Phase-1 contractors is as follows:
| Package No. | From | To | Length in km | Contractor |
| 1. | Bijauli | Chandner | 48.9 | IRB Infrastructure |
| 2. | Chandner | Mirzapur Dungal | 30.0 | IRB Infrastructure |
| 3. | Mirzapur Dungal | Nagla Baraha | 50.7 | IRB Infrastructure |
| 4. | Nagla Baraha | Binawar | 52.1 | Adani Enterprises |
| 5. | Binawar | Dari Gulau | 46.7 | Adani Enterprises |
| 6. | Dari Gulau | Ubariya Khurd | 52.9 | Adani Enterprises |
| 7. | Ubariya Khurd | Iksai | 52.4 | Adani Enterprises |
| 8. | Iksai | Raiya Mao | 50.2 | Adani Enterprises |
| 9. | Raiya Mao | Sarson | 53.1 | Adani Enterprises |
| 10. | Sarson | Terukha | 51.8 | Adani Enterprises |
| 11. | Terukha | Naudhiya | 52.0 | Adani Enterprises |
| 12. | Naudhiya | Judapur Dandu | 53.0 | Adani Enterprises |
2025 onwards: Phase-2 construction
Phase-2 was approved in January 2025, paving the way for preparation of pre-construction DPR.Route
Phase-1
Main route
The 594km long Ganga Expressway Phase-1 alignment, from west to east, is as follows| District | Alignment / key locations |
| Meerut | Bijauli village near Kharkhauda on NH-334 |
| Hapur | Simbhaoli |
| Bulandshahr | Hingwara; Upper Ganga Canal Expressway begins here; Siana village — crosses the Ganga via Siyana–Rukhalu bridge |
| Amroha | Rukhalu village — Ganga crossing via Siyana–Rukhalu bridge |
| Sambhal | Isapur Sunwari; Chandausi |
| Budaun | Binawar; Dataganj |
| Shahjahanpur | Jalalabad |
| Hardoi | Sandi; Bilgram |
| Unnao | Unnao city |
| Raebareli | Dalmau; Unchahar; Balipur |
| Pratapgarh | Lalganj |
| Prayagraj | Judapur Dandu village near Soraon on NH-19 |
Spurs
- Ganga-Yamuna Expressway : 74.3 km long, 120 metre wide, Rs 4,000 cr expressway, from Siyana northeast of Bulandshahr on Ganga Expressway to Yamuna Expressway at Pari Chowk in Greater Noida, thus providing connectivity to Noida Airport, Eastern Peripheral Expressway, Western Peripheral Expressway and Delhi-Mumbai Expressway. Land acquisition commenced in 2025.
Phase-1 Interchanges
The types of interchanges are listed west to east:Legends: NH is National Highways, SH is State Highways, MDR is Major District Road, and ODR is Other District Road.
| Highway/Expressway | Location/Description | Type |
| Delhi–Meerut Expressway | Dummy interchange | — |
| NH-334 | Trumpet interchange | Trumpet |
| NH-24 | Diamond interchange | Diamond |
| Uttar Pradesh [State Highway 65|SH-65] | Diamond interchange | Diamond |
| MDR-162W | Diamond interchange | Diamond |
| ODR | Diamond interchange | Diamond |
| NH-509 | Double Trumpet interchange | Double Trumpet |
| SH-125 | Diamond interchange | Diamond |
| SH-33 | Double Trumpet interchange | Double Trumpet |
| SH-29 | Double Trumpet interchange | Double Trumpet |
| SH-138 | Diamond interchange | Diamond |
| SH-21 | Double Trumpet interchange | Double Trumpet |
| Agra–Lucknow Expressway | Double Trumpet interchange | Double Trumpet |
| NH-27 | Diamond interchange | Diamond |
| NH-31 | Double Trumpet interchange | Double Trumpet |
| NH-30 | Double Trumpet interchange | Double Trumpet |
| Yamuna Expressway | — | — |
Phase-2
Main route
The Phase-2, of 453 km length, includes the following extensions. Please help expand the exact alignment with important towns and intersections with NH, SH, and expressways along the way.Meerut-Haridwar: Upper Ganges Canal Expressway
: The Government of Uttar Pradesh decided to extend the expressway 110 km northwest i.e. Meerut to Haridwar. At Haridwar it will connect to the Char Dham Highway and Char Dham Railway.Prayagraj-Ballia
Prayagraj-Ballia Expressway : 314 eastward extension from Prayagraj to Ballia via Varanasi.Spurs
Please help expand this by listing additional spurs off the two planned extensions :Phase-2 interchanges
Listed west to east :- Upper Ganges Canal Expressway :
- * Delhi–Dehradun Expressway
- * Char Dham Highway
- Prayagraj-Ballia section:
- * NH-31
Economic use
Ganga Industrial corridor
Area along the Ganga Expressway is being developed as the industrial corridor. New Industries are coming up around Meerut, Baduan, Kanpur, Varanasi and Prayagraj. and there are government plans to setup the pharma parks, textile parks, IT parks along the Ganga Expressway.- Meerut, In 2023, Uttar Pradesh government acquired the land to set up an industrial city in Meerut, adjacent to entry and exit points of the expressway.
- Kanpur, after the completion of both phases, will serve as a major node for economic and industrial activity, as it will be the central point of the expressway, with many projects planned in the Agra-Lucknow Expressway and Awadh Expressway region.
Military airstrip
Sections of Ganga Expressway have bene constructed to operate as the airstip for the Indian Military. Indian Air Force fighter jets and transport aircraft conducted landing and take-off drills on 2 May 2025 from a -long Emergency Landing Facility on the Expressway near Shahjahanpur with several types of aircraft which included Su-30MKI, Mirage 2000, MiG-29, Jaguar, C-130J Super Hercules, An-32, and the Mi-17 V5 helicopter.Current status
Phase-1: Meerut-Prayagraj
The Ganga Expressway project, first proposed in 2007, was revived and officially relaunched by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on 29 January 2019. Planned to run broadly parallel to the Ganga river while maintaining a 10 km distance to meet environmental norms, the expressway is being executed in phases, with the 594 km Phase-1 connecting Meerut to Prayagraj.By 2020, ₹2,000 crore was allocated for construction, and land acquisition accelerated through 2021, reaching over 90% by August that year. The project received environmental clearance in November 2021, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone on 18 December 2021. Contracts were awarded to Adani Enterprises and IRB Infrastructure, and physical construction began in April 2022.
By late 2023, major groundwork—including clearing, grubbing, and initial earthworks—was largely completed, and the Uttar Pradesh government also announced an industrial city near Meerut, adjacent to the expressway. As of December 2025, Phase-1 had achieved 100% earthwork, 100% GSB, 100% WMM, 100% DBM in Main Carriageway, and 1,498 of 1,498 structures completed, with overall progress at about 96%. Only lane marking and road signage work is underway in some sections.