Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the Bundelkhand Expressway at Jalaun in Uttar Pradesh.

The 296 km four-lane expressway has been constructed at a cost of around Rs 14,850 crore under the aegis of Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA), and can later be expanded up to six lanes as well.

The expressway would give a major boost to connectivity and industrial development in the region.

The budgetary allocation of Rs 1.99 lakh crore for the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in Budget 2022-23 is the highest ever. This is a jump of over 550 per cent when compared to the allocation of about Rs 30,300 crore in 2013-14.

In the last seven years, the length of National Highways in the country has gone up by more than 50 per cent from 91,287 km (as on April 2014) to around 1,41,000 km (as on December 31, 2021).

The foundation stone for the construction of the Bundelkhand Expressway was laid by the Prime Minister on February 29, 2020. The work on the expressway has been completed within 28 months.

Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath was also present at the occasion.