Noida: Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) is likely to complete a 60-metre-wide service road running parallel to Yamuna Expressway by March next year, providing an alternative route between Greater Noida and Yamuna City. Of the proposed 40-km stretch, 35 km has already been completed, while work on the remaining section is awaiting land acquisition. Once completed, it will offer a toll-free alternative to the expressway for commuters travelling towards Noida airport.At present, people travelling to the airport from Noida and Greater Noida have to travel 32 km on the expressway and then take a seven-kilometre stretch of Delhi-Mumbai Expressway link road to reach the airport.The Authority is developing service lanes on the left side of the expressway to accommodate the growing traffic to the airport and cargo terminal. The airport and the terminal became operational on June 15 and June 17, respectively. The service lanes will connect Pari Chowk with Yamuna City and key institutions and areas such as GIMS, Gautam Buddha University, Galgotias University, Dankaur, YEIDA sectors 18, 20 and 21, and Film City on the way.Since the road is not yet complete, commuters are facing difficulties. After covering 35 km on the service lane, they have to take narrow internal roads and often ask locals for directions to reach the airport.An Authority official said the road project was delayed due to land issues at some locations. “We have acquired the land in Dayanatpur village and construction started there. We will soon acquire land in Sabota village. This is the last hurdle and we aim to complete the project by March next year,” he said.The locals travelling between Greater Noida and Jewar also have to use the expressway. They have to pay the toll to access the road. There have been multiple instances where the locals have objected to paying the toll. Among them are mostly farmers who gave up their land for the construction of the road. Operational since 2012, the expressway has significantly reduced travel time between NCR and Agra while facilitating industrial, residential and commercial development along its route.The farmers had been demanding a concession on the toll for at least a decade before last month, when the Yamuna Expressway concessionaire, Jaypee Infratech, said it had started issuing passes to landowners whose land was acquired for the expressway project. Nearly 200 such farmers have now received passes.
