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The Uttar Pradesh government has said the 165-km Yamuna Expressway between Greater Noida and Agra complies with international traffic standards.
Concerns are often raised over safety parameters and traffic norms on the Expressway, owing to frequent road accidents, which have resulted in several casualties since it was inaugurated on August 9, 2012.
Over the past week, three persons have been killed and as many injured in two accidents on the Yamuna Expressway. A person died when a truck overturned after tyre burst in Dankaur area. In another incident, two persons died and three critically injured when the car they were travelling on turned upside down in Jewar area.
Replying to a question in the state Assembly recently, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav conceded that road accidents were not uncommon on Yamuna Expressway, while maintaining it conformed with global standards.
He said the government agencies worked according to action plan to check road mishaps on Yamuna Expressway, which included sign boards, reflectors, barriers, bollards, speed bumps, blinkers, CCTV camera and speed information systems.
Yadav said interceptor vehicles equipped with modern equipment had been pressed to intercept over-speeding vehicles and traffic offenders.
The government has the speed limit for light motor vehicle traveling on the Expressway at 100 km an hour. The concessionaire, Jaypee Infratech, had implemented corridor control management system, advanced traffic management system along the route, which envisages speed cams, CCTV, Video Incident Detection System, Variable Message Sign, etc.
Yamuna Expressway, took about 10 years from conceptualisation to completion, and entailed investment of Rs 12,000 crore.
The 6-lane expressway was conceived to provide faster connectivity between NCR and Agra and decongest NH-2. It was also aimed at opening up avenues for industrial and urban development and providing convergence to tourism and allied industries.
Approximately 1,182 villages in 6 districts viz. Gautam Budh Nagar, Bulandshahar, Aligarh, Hatras, Mathura and Agra were notified under Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA).
