Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to dedicate two projects in Haryana today, including the inauguration of Western Peripheral Expressway (WPE), also known as the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal stretch. He will also flag off 3.2 km-long Escorts Mujesar-Ballabgarh section of Delhi Metro's Violent Line. Modi will then lay the foundation of the country's first Sri Vishwakarma Skill Development University in Palwal district through remote control. This will be the Prime Minister's 11th visit to Haryana in four years.

PM Modi inaugurated the Eastern  Peripheral Expressway on May 27 earlier this year,  fifteen years from the date of announcement. The highway was completed in the record time of 17 months as the foundation stone was laid by PM in November 2015. The two expressways are dubbed as the first smart and green highway, with an intelligent highway traffic management system (HTMS), video incident detection system (VIDS), electrified by solar panels and faster Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) system at toll booths. The stretch is 135-km long and is partially operational. The road has been divided into three sections, each of 45 km. The WPH crosses NH-44 at Kundli, NH-10 at Bahadurgarh, NH-8 at Manesar, NH-248 A at Sohna and NH-2 at Palwal. Almost 15 flyovers will be built at different places along the stretch to facilitate smooth commute.

The 135-km-long Eastern Peripheral Expressway envisages signal-free connectivity between Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Gautam Budh Nagar (Greater Noida) and Palwal.

On the other hand, the Escorts Mujesar–Raja Nahar Sigh (Ballabhgarh) section will be extremely crucial from the point of view of connectivity for the city of Ballabhgarh, Faridabad, South-East Delhi and Central Delhi areas.
Western Peripheral Expressway inauguration: Key Points

1. Once the KMP expressway is thrown open, heavy vehicles will get access to various industrial towns like Maneser, Sohna, Dharuhera, Bawal and Bhiwadi in Haryana without entering Delhi. The expressway will cut down the distance between various northern and western states, along with cutting down carbon emissions in the national capital.

2. The two expressways- Eastern Periphery Expressway and the Western Periphery Expressway were planned in 2003 following the Supreme Court order to form  a ring road outside Delhi for channeling non-Delhi bound traffic bypassing the national capital.

3. A sum of Rs 6,400 crore has been spent on the expressway project and 3,846 acres of land was acquired at a cost of Rs 2,788 crore.

4. The design speed of this expressway is 120 kmph for light vehicles and 100 kmph for heavy ones.

5. The project missed multiple deadlines and subsequently the then Congress-led government of the state decided to terminate the contract and pay KMP Expressway and lenders Rs 1,300 crore as a termination payment. The project was revived in 2014. It was also decided to upgrade the expressway to a six-lane expressway.

Escort Mujesar-Ballabgarh metro section to be flagged off: Key Points

1. Ballabhgarh will become the fourth city in Haryana to get metro connectivity after Gurgaon, Faridabad and Bahadurgarh.

2. After the opening of this extension, the entire Kashmere Gate – Raja Nahar Singh Metro corridor will become 46.6 km-long.

3. Currently, 25.8 km of metro lines are operational across Haryana. After the opening of this section, the total length of metro kilometres in Haryana will become 29 km. All trains running on this section are manufactured in India.

4. The Raja Nahar Singh Metro station of this section will be integrated with the Ballabhgarh Railway station and the interstate bus terminal of Ballabhgarh directly with a foot over-bridge, which is currently under construction.

5. A DMRC official said a peak hour frequency of six minutes and 48 seconds will be maintained on this section between Badarpur and Raja Nahar Singh on weekdays.  All trains, which till now were operating till Escorts Mujesar, will go up to Raja Nahar Singh. A total of 40 trains will be operational on the entire Kashmere Gate – Raja Nahar Singh corridor.