- A new 160-km, six-lane expressway is planned between Bhopal and Indore in Madhya Pradesh
- The project aims to cut travel time from 4 hours to about 2 to 2.5 hours with a fresh road alignment
- The expressway will be access-controlled, avoiding local traffic and congestion on the existing route
The Bhopal-Indore road journey could soon become almost half as long. A new 160-km, six-lane greenfield expressway is planned between the two major Madhya Pradesh cities. The Rs 4,000-crore project is being pushed as a completely new road instead of making the existing Bhopal-Indore route wider.
Once operational, the journey that currently takes around 4 hours could come down to 2 to 2.5 hours.
Instead of adding lanes to the existing road, the proposed corridor will be constructed on a fresh alignment. The idea is to avoid the traffic, intersections, and congestion of towns along the existing route. It will be a six-lane, access-controlled highway, allowing through traffic to move without the interruptions caused by local traffic and slow-moving vehicles.
The proposed alignment is approximately 160 km long and follows a more direct route between Bhopal and Indore. For travellers, the most obvious change will be the shorter journey.
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The corridor is also expected to strengthen links between major urban and economic centres in western Madhya Pradesh. Dewas and Sehore are among the places expected to benefit from faster connectivity.
The 2028 Simhastha Factor
Ujjain is preparing to host Simhastha in 2028, when the region is expected to see a major increase in passenger movement. The state government is therefore keen to move the project forward and is targeting operational sections, or the complete corridor, around 2028. The expressway is being treated as a priority infrastructure project because of its potential role in handling increased travel demand as well as improving regional connectivity.
It Could Become Part Of A Bigger Highway Network
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
The Bhopal-Indore corridor is also significant because of its planned links with other major routes:
- At the Indore end, the Garoth-Indore link expressway is being developed to connect with the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway. This could eventually give travellers from Bhopal and Indore a faster high-speed route towards Delhi and Mumbai.
- The proposed corridor will also connect with the wider Narmada Expressway network around the Sehore-Dewas region.
- Another important link is the planned 255-km Bhopal-Jabalpur greenfield expressway, which is intended to reduce the Bhopal-Jabalpur journey from around six hours to three hours.
Together, these projects could create a much wider high-speed road network across Madhya Pradesh.
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Ultimately, better connectivity between Bhopal, Indore, Dewas, Sehore and other surrounding areas could also help promote economic growth in smaller parts of the region. The proposed expressway is also expected to include modern highway infrastructure such as traffic surveillance systems, automated tolling, emergency assistance stations, and access-controlled entry and exit points.
