Expressways of India
Expressway signs forNE1 andNE2
System information
Maintained byMinistry of Road Transport and Highways
Length	6,059 km (3,765 mi)
Formed	2002
Highway names
Expressways	National expressways (NE) (Primary corridors) Economic corridors (EC) (Industrial corridors) State expressways (SE) (Regional corridors)
System links
Roads in India Expressways National State Asian

Theexpressways of India areaccess-controlledtoll highways featuringdivided carriageways, engineered to support high-speed vehicular movement and to accommodate heavy loads. They constitute the highest class of road infrastructure in the Indian road network.^[1] As of December 2024, the total length of expressways in India was 6,059 km (3,765 mi), with 11,127.69 km (6,914.43 mi) under construction.

A central reservation or median separates the traffic moving in opposite directions on expressways. Entry and exits are permitted only throughgrade separatedinterchanges. In contrast,National highways may or may not have amedian and may lack full access-control.^[2] Additionally, some highways constructed by State Governments, which may be fully orpartiallyaccess-controlled, are designated or named as expressways by the respective State authorities.^[3]

Fully opened in April 2002,Mumbai–Pune Expressway was India's first six-lane, access-controlled, inter-city tolled expressway. Spanning 94.5 km (58.7 mi) betweenMumbai andPune, within the state ofMaharashtra, it set the benchmark for future expressway development in the country. Since then, expressway construction has significantly accelerated, particularly under theBharatmala project and other infrastructure programmes both national and regional.^[4]

As of 2024, the longest expressway in India is the partially-openedDelhi–Mumbai Expressway (Phase-3), spanning 1,015 km (631 mi), which was inaugurated on 18 December 2024.^[5] The widest expressway is theDelhi–Gurgaon section of theDwarka Expressway, featuring 16 lanes, which was also opened in 2024.

While major roads in theIndian subcontinent existed as early as 29th Century BCE in theIndus Valley, the 3,655 km (2,271 mi) longGrand Trunk Road built by theMauryans during 4th century BCE and later maintained by others, is one of the earliest examples of highest class road infrastructure in India.^[6] In 1934,Indian Roads Congress (IRC) was formed to overlook development and research of roads in India and envisioned to achieve a road density of 16 km per 100 km² of land pre-independence.^[7] It was not until in 1995 whenNational Highways Authority of India (NHAI) was established as an autonomous body to develop, maintain and manage India's road network through National Highways. NHAI would later build and operate various expressways in the country.^[8]

In 1990,Government of Maharashtra appointedRITES to conduct a feasibility study for toll-based expressway betweenMumbai andPune, marking it as the first such initiative to construct an expressway in India. Four years later, RITES submitted its report and the project was estimated to cost₹1,146 crore (equivalent to₹75 billion or US$890 million in 2023). In March 1997,Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) undertook the construction of the expressway on aBuild–operate–transfer (BOT) model that allowed the state government to collect tolls for 30 years. At the end of the same year, after all environmental and forest clearances, the construction on the 94.5 km (58.7 mi) corridor commenced with first sections opening in 2000. In April 2002, India's first expressway was flagged to be fully operational, with an estimated construction cost of₹1,630 crore (equivalent to₹62 billion or US$740 million in 2023), which paved the way for more such expressways across the country.^[4]

On 24 January 2001, the eight-lane 7.5 km (4.7 mi) longDND Flyway betweenDelhi andNoida was operationalised, becoming the first urban expressway in India.^[9] Following Mumbai-Pune,Ahmedabad–Vadodara Expressway was then opened between the cities ofAhmedabad andVadodara inGujarat on 16 August 2004. While this expressway was operationalised two years later, it was designated as National Expressway 1 (NE-1) back in 1986 by theGovernment of India.^[10]

In 2009, with the advent of new expressway infrastructures coming up across India, theMinistry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) was preparing to set-up National Expressways Authority of India (NEAI) to be in-charge of the construction and maintenance of expressways, however, the Ministry did not proceed with the creation of NEAI for unspecified reasons and NHAI continued to remain in-charge.^[11]

Prior to being subsumed underBharatmala Pariyojana (lit. 'India garland project'), the government of India had launchedNational Highways Development Project (NHDP) in 1998 as a seven-step flagship project to construct highest class roads in India and to upgrade the existing ones. The phase-4 of which included the development of 1,000 km (620 mi) of expressways at an indicative cost of₹15,000 crore (equivalent to₹680 billion or US$8.0 billion in 2023).^[12] In 2017, underBharatmala about 1,900 km (1,200 mi) km of corridors had been identified for development of new expressways, of which 800 km (500 mi) were taken up under phase-1 of the project.^[13]

In the 2010s, the states ofMaharashtra andUttar Pradesh took keen interest in investing in expressways through dedicated expressway corporations ofMSRDC andUPEIDA respectively.^[14] While Maharashtra led by MSRDC completed its second expressway with 701 km (436 mi) longMumbai–Nagpur Expressway in June 2025, Uttar Pradesh had built four new expressways namely;Bundelkhand,Purvanchal,Agra–Lucknow andYamuna expressways by the turn of early 2020s.^[15] On 21 May 2015, in a first for military aviation and expressway infrastructure in India, theIndian Air Force'sDassault Mirage 2000 successfully landed on the Yamuna Expressway nearMathura in a mock-drill to evaluate the utility of using highways and expressways for emergency landings by military aircraft.^[16]

In 2024, the government of India presented an ambitious 'Vision 2047' plan envisioning the construction of up to 50,000 km (31,000 mi) of access-controlled highways and expressways, with Indians gaining access to the expressways at a distance of 100–125 km (62–78 mi) from any point in the country. The ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) had also been finalising new guidelines to improve and standardise infrastructure along the already-developed highways with wayside amenities. Satellite-based tolling was also proposed to be started on 10-15 stretches in the same year.^[17]

Expressways in India are designated into three main categories:

• National Expressways (NE): Managed by NHAI under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), these are the medium to long-distance expressways which connect the major cities of India.Delhi–Mumbai Expressway, designated as National Expressway-4 (NE-4) is one such example of a National Expressway.
• Economic Corridors (EC): Also managed by NHAI under MoRTH, these expressways are being built across variousIndustrial corridors of India.Amritsar–Jamnagar Expressway, designated as Economic Corridor-3 (EC-3) is an example of Industrial expressway.
• State Expressways (SE): These are the regional expressways undertaken by respective state governments to connect the cities within a state.Mumbai–Nagpur Expressway undertaken byMaharashtra state-government'sMSRDC is an example for regional expressway undertaken by the Maharashtra state government.
• Urban expressways: Additionally some urban governments and municipalities have also constructed expressways within or near urban areas to facilitate decongestion and faster movement within cities.DND Flyway between Delhi and Noida is an example for toll-free urban expressway.
• Bypass expressways:Bypass expressways are constructed to divert the through-traffic, away from urban areas and city centres. They reduce urban pollution and improve travel speed.Chennai Bypass Road is an example that is built to bypassChennai.
• Spur expressways:Spur expressways in India are short corridors that branch off from a main expressway to connect important cities, towns, industrial zones or border areas, thus enhancing the regional connectivity. The 41 km (25 mi) longNakodar–Amritsar spur section which branches off from theDelhi–Katra Expressway is an example.

Greenfield Expressways in India are new expressways that are built on new alignments to facilitate economy of the areas they pass through. These newly built expressways allow for speeds up to 120 km/h (75 mph) and typically have space reserved between the carriages to allow for a future expansion. Delhi–Mumbai Expressway is an example which is being built with eight-lanes and a reserved space in the median to allow for future expansion of up to twelve lanes.^[18] While Brownfield Expressways in India backed by 'Brownfield National Highway Project' (BNHP) are a series of projects undertaken to widen/re-develop existing national highways that have high traffic demand. The upgradation usually involves expansion of lanes from four to six, such asNH-709A.^[19]

Access-control on Indian expressways offers uninterrupted high-speed travel and safety. It is mainly achieved through fencing,Grade separation with over-passes and under-passes, barriers or medians and with additional dedicatedservice roads for local traffic. Fully access-controlled expressways do not allow access from side roads, villages or properties but only viainter-changes.Partially access-controlled expressways allow access at some at-grade junctions and minor road crossings may exist. Non access-controlled roads are conventional highways that have a mix of local and through traffic without any entry restrictions.

All Indian expressways havedual carriageways, one for each direction, separated by amedian. Each carriageway typically has at least two lanes, with three to four lanes also being common. Most Greenfield expressways have a reserved space between the carriages for future expansion in number of lanes. Some expressways utilise concrete or metal beamcrash barriers for safety.Paved shoulders or emergency lanes also exist beside each carriageway to support during the event of accident. Service lanes on each direction are often provided outside the fenced area for local traffic.

TheIndian Roads Congress (IRC) has specified guidelines for designing access-controlled highways with its IRC:SP:99-2013 standard. It specifies a standard lane width of 3.5 m (11 ft) with paved shoulders having a width of 2–2.5 m (6 ft 7 in – 8 ft 2 in) and unpaved shoulders having 1 m (3 ft 3 in) width.^[20]

Inter-changes are junctions that connect expressway with other roads, highways or other expressways without interrupting the flow of traffic. They improve safety by eliminatingright-angle collisions. Indian expressways have various interchanges designed for suitability.System interchanges—such ascloverleaf,three-way,trumpet connect with other national or state highways.Service interchanges—such asSingle Point Diamond Interchange (SPDI) are used for connecting smaller roads.^[21]

The design of inter-changes for Indian expressways and highways are governed by IRC:SP:99-2013 and Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) guidelines. While Cloverleaf interchanges require at least 20-30 acres of land, directional flyovers require less. The inter-change designs include acceleration/deceleration lanes for safe merging.^[20]

High-speed travel is a key feature on Indian expressways unlike conventional highways where speeds are low due to local traffic and cattle interruptions. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has set speed limits based on road geometry and vehicle type. Some Greenfield expressways are designed for speeds up to 150 km/h (93 mph) but are legally capped at 120 km/h (75 mph) for safety, with some expressways capped as low as 100 km/h (62 mph). For heavy vehicles such as buses and trucks, it is usually capped at 80–100 km (50–62 mi).^[22] The minimum designed speed on ramps on inter-changes per IRC is 40–60 km (25–37 mi).^[20]

Expressways in India excluding some urban ones aretolled. They are implemented to recover cost of construction, maintenance and operations, and are primarily managed by NHAI under MoRTH. The tolls are levied based on vehicle category, type of expressway and distance travelled. They form a great source of revenue for funding the expanding expressway network in India. Only designated interchanges allow entry and exit into the tolls. Rates of tolls are revised every year on April 1, based on theWholesale price index (WPI) to adjust forinflation.^[24][25]

FASTag is anElectronic toll collection (ETC) system operated in India by NHAI under MoRTH. It usesRadio-frequency identification (RFID) technology to enable automatic deduction of toll charges at toll plazas on Indian expressways, allowing for vehicles to pass without stopping for toll transactions.^[26]

The FASTag system is based on the National Electronic Toll Collection (NTEC) programme developed by theNational Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) as a part of India's efforts to digitise highway infrastructure and reduce congestion on toll plazas. It was launched in 2014 as a pilot project on the Ahmedabad–Mumbai section ofGolden Quadrilateral highway. From 15 February 2021, fastag became mandatory for all four-wheeled vehicles on national highways.^[27]

Offered by NHAI under MoRTH, Wayside Amenities (WSAs) are dedicated rest and service facilities located along Indian expressways and other national highways to improve road travel comfort, safety, and logistics. They offer rest, food, fuel, charging stations and similar services to both passengers and freight vehicles. The help in reducing driver fatigue, supporting logistics movement and in promotinghighway tourism. They are typically located at intervals of 40–50 km (25–31 mi) along expressways. In June 2025, NHAI announced an ambitious plan of establishing over 1000 WSAs over a period of five years underPublic–private partnership. The WSAs in the plan include setting up of fuel stations andEV charging points, food courts,dhabas and restaurants, convenience stores, medical and childcare rooms, promotional spaces for local artisans, drone landing facilities and helipads at larger sites.^[28]

The financing of Indian expressways is achieved through a combination ofpublic funding, private investment, multilateral lending and via tolls.Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) sets policy and budget allocations whileNational Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is responsible for implementation and collection of tolls. The private sector entities participate through variousPublic–private partnership models. A significant amount of funding for expressways comes from central government allocations, especially underBharatmala Pariyojana. In the 2023-24Union budget of India, MoRTH was allocated₹270,000 crore (US$32 billion), of which a large share was dedicated for expressways and economic corridor developments.^[29] In 2024–25, NHAI earned over₹41,000 crore (US$4.8 billion) in toll revenue, with projections of₹130,000 crore (US$15 billion) by 2030 through FASTag and monetisation of roads.^[30]

The following list contains operational national expressways built and operated byNational Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

Overview of fully and partially operational national expressways of India

Expressway	Sign	Terminus	Locale	Length	Lanes	Type	Status	Opening
Ahmedabad–Vadodara		Jashodha Nagar,Ahmedabad – Dumad,Vadodara	Gujarat	93.1 km (57.8 mi)	4	Intrastate	Operational	16 August 2004[31]
Amritsar–Jamnagar	EC-3	Tibba,Kapurthala –Jamnagar	Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat	1,256.95 km (781.03 mi)	6	Inter-state economic corridor	Partially opened	1 December 2025[32]
Bengaluru–Chennai		Hosakote –Sriperumbudur	Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu	258 km (160 mi)	4	Inter-state	Partially opened	1 June 2026[33]
Bengaluru–Mysuru		Kumbalgodu, Bengaluru Urban district –Hale Kesare,Mysuru	Karnataka	119 km (74 mi)	6	Intrastate brownfield	Operational	12 March 2023[34]
Delhi–Dehradun		Delhi –Dehradun	Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand	210 km (130 mi)	6	Inter-state	Partially opened	1 December 2025[35]
Delhi–Faridabad		Badarpur,Delhi – Sector 37,Faridabad	Delhi NCR	4.4 km (2.7 mi)	6	Urban brownfield	Operational	29 November 2010[36]
Delhi–Gurgaon		Manesar,Gurgaon – Arjun Vihar,Delhi	Delhi NCR	27.7 km (17.2 mi)	6–8	Urban brownfield	Operational	23 January 2008[37]
Delhi–Meerut		Nizamuddin Bridge,New Delhi –Partapur,Meerut	Delhi and Uttar Pradesh	96 km (60 mi)	14	Inter-state	Operational	1 April 2021[38]
Delhi–Mumbai		Sohna EC,Delhi –JNPT,Mumbai	Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra	1,350 km (840 mi)	8	Inter-state	Partially opened	1 October 2025[39]
Delhi–Panipat		Delhi –Panipat	Delhi NCR	70.5 km (43.8 mi)	8	Inter-state brownfield	Operational	20 June 2023[40]
DND–KMP	NH-148NA	DND Flyway, Delhi –KMP,Nuh district	Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh	59 km (37 mi)	6	Inter-state	Partially opened	2026
Durgapur Expressway		Dankuni –Durgapur	West Bengal	154 km(95.7 mi)	6	Intrastate brownfield	Partially opened	2025
Kona		Hastings,Kolkata –NH 16,Nibra,Howrah	West Bengal	11 km(6.8 mi)	6	Urban brownfield	Partially opened	3 December 2026[41]
Raipur–Bilaspur		Tatibandh,Bilaspur district – Tatibandh,Raipur	Chhattisgarh	127 km (79 mi)	4–6	Intrastate brownfield	Operational	1 May 2019
Trans-Haryana (Ambala–Narnaul)		Ghangheri,Kurukshetra district – Surana,Mahendragarh district	Haryana	227 km (141 mi)	6	Intrastate	Operational	1 August 2022[42]
Mumbai-Nashik		Nashik –Thane	Maharashtra	150 km (93 mi)	4-6	Intrastate	Operational	2009

Overview of under-construction national expressways of India

Expressway	Sign	Terminus	Locale	Length	Lanes	Type	Construction began	Opening
Ahmedabad–Dholera		Sarkhej,Ahmedabad – Adhelai,Bhavnagar district	Gujarat	109 km (68 mi)	4–6	Intrastate	2021[43]	2025[43]
Amas–Darbhanga		Amas,Gaya ,Patna,Darbhanga	Bihar	189 km (117 mi)	4–6	Intrastate	2022[44]	2025[45]
Ambala-Shamli		Sadopur,Ambala district – Gogwan Jalalpur,Shamli district	Haryana and Uttar Pradesh	121 km (75 mi)	6	Inter-state	2023[46]	2026[47]
Awadh (Kanpur–Lucknow)		Azad Chauraha,Kanpur – Shaheed Path,Lucknow	Uttar Pradesh	62.76 km (39.00 mi)	6	Intrastate	2022[48]	1 July 2025[49]
Bengaluru–Vijayawada		Bengaluru –Vijaywada	Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh	518 km (322 mi)	6	Inter-state	2023[50]	2027[51]
Chennai Port–Maduravoyal		Chennai Port –Maduravoyal	Tamil Nadu	20.6 km (12.8 mi)	6	Urban	2023[52]	2027[52]
Delhi–Jaipur		Kherki Dhaula Toll, Gurgaon – Chandwaji,Jaipur	Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan	195 km (121 mi)	4	Inter-state	2025[53]	2027[54]
Delhi–Katra		Bahadurgarh border, Delhi –Katra	Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir	670 km (420 mi)	4	Inter-state	2021[55]	31 December 2025[56]
Durg–Arang		Tendesara,Rajnandgaon district – Mahanadi Bridge,Arang	Chhattisgarh	92 km (57 mi)	6	Intrastate	2022[57]	30 June 2026[58]
Faridabad–Ghaziabad		Greater Faridabad,Faridabad – Rahul Vihar,Ghaziabad	Uttar Pradesh and Haryana	56 km (35 mi)	6	Inter-state	2025[59]	2027[60]
Ghaziabad-Kanpur Expressway		Ghaziabad –Kanpur	Uttar Pradesh	380 km (240 mi)	6	Intrastate	2025[61]	2026[61]
Hyderabad–Indore		Hyderabad –Indore	Telangana, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh	713 km (443 mi)	4	Inter-state brownfield	2024[62]	2025[63]
Jaipur–Bandikui	NE-4C	Jaipur –Bandikui	Rajasthan	67 km (42 mi)	4	Intrastate spur	2022[64]	1 July 2025[65]
Ludhiana–Ajmer	EC-8	Ludhiana –Ajmer	Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan	600 km (370 mi)	6	Inter-state economic corridor	2025[66]	TBD
Nagpur–Vijayawada		Nagpur –Vijaywada	Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh	405 km (252 mi)	4	Inter-state economic corridor	2023[67]	2027[67]
Paniyala–Barodamev		Paniyala Mod,Kotputli – Barodamev,Alwar	Haryana and Rajasthan	86.5 km (53.7 mi)	6	Inter-state economic corridor	2024[68]	2026[68]
Raipur–Dhanbad	EC-7	Dharsiwa,Raipur district –Dhanbad	Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand	707 km (439 mi)	4	Inter-state economic corridor	2023[69]	2026[70]
Raipur–Hyderabad		Patan,Raipur –Hyderabad	Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Telangana	530 km (330 mi)	6	Inter-state	2023[71]	2025[71]
Raipur–Visakhapatnam		Abhanpur,Raipur district –Visakhapatnam Port,Visakhapatnam	Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh	464 km (288 mi)	6	Inter-state economic corridor	2022[72]	2025[72]
Surat–Chennai		Surat district –Chennai district	Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu	1,271 km (790 mi)	6	Inter-state	2023[73]	2026[73]
Urban Extension Road-II	NH-344M	Alipur –Mahipalpur	Delhi NCR	75.7 km (47.0 mi)	6	Urban	2021[74]	2025[75]
Varanasi–Kolkata	NH-319B	Varanasi Ring Road,Chandauli district – Sarisha,Diamond Harbour	Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal	710 km (440 mi)	6	Inter-state	2024[76]	2027[77]

Overview of fully and partially operational bypass expressways of India

Bypassing city	Expressway	Sign	Terminals	Locale	Length	Lanes	Owner	Status	Opening
Bengaluru	Satellite Town Ring		Dobbaspet,Bengaluru Rural district –Hosur	Karnataka and Tamil Nadu	280.8 km (174.5 mi)	4–6	NHAI	Partially opened	December 2025[91]
Chennai	Chennai Bypass		Puzhal, Chennai –Perungalathur, Chennai	Tamil Nadu	32 km (20 mi)	6	NHAI	Operational	2010[92]
Delhi	Eastern Peripheral		Kundli,Sonipat – Dholgarh,Palwal	Haryana and Uttar Pradesh	135 km (84 mi)	6	NHAI	Operational	27 May 2018[93]
Delhi	Western Peripheral		Kundli, Sonipat – Dholgarh, Palwal	Haryana	135.6 km (84.3 mi)	6	HSIIDC	Operational	19 November 2019[94]
Gurgaon	Dwarka Expressway		Mahipalpur, Delhi – Kherli Daula, Gurgaon	Delhi and Haryana	27.6 km (17.1 mi)	8	NHAI	Operational	11 March 2024[95]
Hyderabad	Outer Ring		Gachibowli –Narsingi, Ranga Reddy district	Telangana	158 km (98 mi)	8	GHMC	Operational	15 July 2016[96]
Kolkata	Belghoria Expressway		Dakshineswar, Kolkata –NSCBIA, Kolkata	West Bengal	16 km (9.9 mi)	4	NHAI	Operational	2008[97]
Lucknow	Lucknow Outer Ring		Bakshi Ka Talab	Uttar Pradesh	104 km (65 mi)	8	NHAI	Operational	March 2024[98]
Ludhiana	Ludhiana Elevated Corridor		Octroi post – Samrala Roundabout	Punjab	13 km (8.1 mi)	4	NHAI	Operational	January 2024[99]
Mumbai andThane	Mumbai Trans-harbour		Sewri, South Mumbai –Chirle,Navi Mumbai	Mumbai MR	21.8 km (13.5 mi)	6	MMRDA	Operational	12 January 2024[100]
Nashik	Nashik Freeway		Pathardi – Adgaon	Maharashtra	14 km (8.7 mi)	6	NHAI	Operational	14 June 2013[101]
Panipat	Panipat Elevated Corridor		Sewah – Sector-18	Haryana	10 km (6.2 mi)	6	Panipat Elevated Corridor Limited (PECL)	Operational	16 July 2008[102]
Prayagraj	Prayagraj Bypass		Kokhraj, Prayagraj – Handia, Prayagraj	Uttar Pradesh	84.7 km (52.6 mi)	4	NHAI	Operational	2009[103]
Prayagraj	Prayagraj Ring Road		Dandupur – Sahasau	Uttar Pradesh	84.7 km (52.6 mi)	4	NHAI	Partially opened	18 June 2026[104]
Varanasi	Varanasi Ring Road		Rakhuana – Barhuli	Uttar Pradesh	63 km (39 mi)	4	NHAI	Partially opened	2025[105]

The following list consists expressways of India, built and operated by their respective state governments, rather thanNHAI.

• Transport in India
• List of national highways in India
• Ring roads in India
• India–China Border Roads
• Setu Bharatam
• High-speed rail in India
• Urban rail transit in India
• Sagar Mala project

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