Bundelkhand Expressway
Bundelkhand Expressway
296 km
Open
Uttar Pradesh
Expressway
Route
Bundelkhand Expressway runs 296 km from Kudrail (near Etawah), Uttar Pradesh to Gonda village (near Chitrakoot), Uttar Pradesh.
Crosses Uttar Pradesh.
Through Etawah, Auraiya, Orai, Banda and Chitrakoot.
Why it matters
This is a road built to fight poverty rather than to relieve traffic. Bundelkhand's farmers, stone quarries and small factories now sit half a day closer to Delhi's markets, and Chitrakoot — an important pilgrimage town linked to the Ramayana — is finally within an easy drive. It is also the spine the state is hanging its Bundelkhand development plans on, from the defence corridor to new industrial parks along the route.
History
Bundelkhand is a dry, rocky region of southern Uttar Pradesh known for drought, poor farms and people leaving to find work elsewhere, and for decades it had no fast road to anywhere. The Bundelkhand Expressway was built to change that, giving the region its first direct high-speed link toward Agra and Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone in February 2020 and opened the finished road in July 2022, months ahead of schedule despite the pandemic years in between. It runs 296 km from the Agra–Lucknow Expressway near Etawah to Gonda village near Chitrakoot, crossing seven districts and several big Bundelkhand rivers. The state built it four lanes wide but bought land and built bridges for six, so it can be widened later, and it is meant to anchor new industry — including a node of the Uttar Pradesh defence industrial corridor near Chitrakoot.
Good to know
- Completed in about 28 months, ahead of its target date.
- Joins the Agra–Lucknow Expressway near Etawah, giving Bundelkhand a continuous expressway run toward Agra and Delhi.
- Passes through seven districts: Etawah, Auraiya, Jalaun, Hamirpur, Mahoba, Banda and Chitrakoot.
- Crosses major Bundelkhand rivers including the Yamuna, Betwa and Ken.
- Built four lanes wide, but the land and structures are already sized for six.
- A node of the Uttar Pradesh defence industrial corridor is planned along it near Chitrakoot.
- Cut the Chitrakoot–Delhi drive from around 12 hours to about 6.
- Built and run by UPEIDA, the same state authority behind the Agra–Lucknow and Purvanchal expressways.
Timeline
- 2020Foundation stone laid by the Prime Minister on 29 February
- 2022Opened to traffic on 16 July, ahead of schedule
Key junctions
- Kudrail (near Etawah) — the northern end, where the expressway meets the Agra–Lucknow Expressway
- Auraiya — exit for Auraiya and the Kanpur road
- Orai (Jalaun) — the main mid-route exit, for Orai town and the Jalaun district headquarters
- Banda — exit for Banda district and the Ken river region
- Gonda village (near Bharatkoop) — the southern end, close to Chitrakoot
On the road
The full 296 km takes about three and a half hours. It is a quiet road — traffic is much lighter than on the Agra–Lucknow Expressway — but that also means very few fuel pumps, food stalls or repair shops along the way, so fill up and carry water before you start. The landscape is open and rocky and gets extremely hot from April to June; the best months to drive it are October to March. It is tolled, and the car speed limit is 100 km/h.
What’s coming next
- UPEIDA has announced a link expressway branching from this road in the Jalaun district area and running to Jhansi.
- A short Chitrakoot link expressway is planned to connect the southern end to Chitrakoot's temple and ghat area.
More details
- Lanes
- 4 lanes, access-controlled (expandable to 6)
- Project cost
- ₹14,716 crore (approx., including land)