Delhi–Meerut Expressway
Delhi–Meerut Expressway
Also known as National Expressway 3 (NE-3) and DME
82 km
Open
2 states
Expressway
Route
Delhi–Meerut Expressway runs 82 km from Sarai Kale Khan, Delhi to Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.
Crosses Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.
Through Delhi, Ghaziabad, Dasna and Meerut.
Why it matters
Meerut, Modinagar and Ghaziabad are part of Delhi's daily commuting belt, and before this expressway the single old road between them was one of the most jammed corridors in the country. The expressway turned a two-and-a-half-hour crawl into a one-hour drive and pulled long-distance traffic off Ghaziabad's city streets. It is also the western doorway of the Ganga Expressway, so traffic from Delhi can now run all the way across Uttar Pradesh on controlled-access roads.
History
The Delhi–Meerut Expressway was built by NHAI to fix one of India's most crowded routes, where the trip from Delhi to Meerut could take well over two hours. It was built in four phases starting in 2015: the first phase widened the road from Sarai Kale Khan to the Delhi–UP border into 14 lanes, and the later phases built a brand-new expressway on to Meerut. The whole road opened in April 2021 and the trip now takes about 45 minutes to an hour. Because it runs through packed neighbourhoods on the Delhi side, the middle lanes are fenced off as a closed expressway and a string of underpasses and flyovers keeps them free of crossings. Meerut, Modinagar and Ghaziabad commuters use it every day, and at Meerut it now hands traffic onward to the Ganga Expressway.
Good to know
- Its first stretch, from Sarai Kale Khan to the UP border, was India's first 14-lane highway section.
- Cut the Delhi–Meerut drive from around 2.5 hours to about 45–60 minutes.
- The 82 km project also includes a branch from Dasna to Hapur.
- At Meerut it links toward the Ganga Expressway, which continues to Prayagraj.
- The Delhi section was built with solar-powered street lights and drip irrigation for its roadside plants.
- It uses closed tolling — you are charged for the exact distance between where you join and where you leave.
- The Kashi plaza near Meerut was opened as a fully digital, FASTag-only toll plaza with no cash counters.
Timeline
- 2015Construction begins
- 201814-lane Delhi section opens
- 2019Dasna–Hapur section opens
- 2021Fully opened on 1 April with the Dasna–Meerut stretch
Key junctions
- Sarai Kale Khan (Delhi) — western end, beside the Ring Road and the Nizamuddin railway station
- UP Gate / Ghazipur — the Delhi–Uttar Pradesh border point where the expressway lanes begin
- Indirapuram (Ghaziabad) — main entry point for Ghaziabad's eastern suburbs
- Dasna — junction with the Eastern Peripheral Expressway and the branch toward Hapur
- Partapur (Meerut) — eastern end and the main entry into Meerut city
Engineering highlights
- Sarai Kale Khan–UP Gate 14-lane section — India's first 14-lane stretch — six fenced expressway lanes in the middle with ordinary highway lanes on either side
- Pilkhuwa and Masuri elevated sections — on the Dasna–Hapur branch, a 5 km elevated road at Pilkhuwa and a 2.5 km one at Masuri lift the road over the towns
On the road
Allow about an hour Delhi to Meerut outside rush hour. The heaviest jams are at the Delhi end around Sarai Kale Khan and UP Gate on weekday mornings and evenings, and near Partapur when you enter Meerut. Toll is collected only through FASTag, so make sure your tag has money on it before you join, and note that slow vehicles, two-wheelers and three-wheelers are not allowed on the fenced expressway lanes.
More details
- Lanes
- 6–14 lanes (14-lane section between Delhi and Ghaziabad)