Delhi, Bypassed
In the twelve years since Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in 2014, Delhi has been wrapped in new roads and rail. The Eastern and Western Peripheral Expressways, both completed in 2018, form a ring of about 270 km that lets trucks travelling between Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand go around the capital instead of through it. New expressways now run out of Delhi to Meerut, Dausa, Dehradun and towards Amritsar, and the Dwarka Expressway and UER-II carry traffic around the city’s western edge. On the rail side, the 82 km Namo Bharat line to Meerut opened fully in February 2026 and the Delhi Metro has more than doubled, from 190 km in 2014 to over 410 km. The green levy paid by trucks entering Delhi fell from ₹473 crore in 2017-18 to ₹94 crore in 2024-25, a sign that fewer of them are coming in.
- The pink ring is the Eastern and Western Peripheral Expressways. Together they let through-traffic, especially trucks, go around Delhi rather than through it. Since March 2026 the Supreme Court has required trucks not bound for Delhi to use them.
- Blue lines are the new expressways out of Delhi: to Meerut, Dehradun, Mumbai (open to Dausa) and towards Amritsar and Katra, with the DND-Faridabad-KMP link, still partly open, tying south Delhi to the ring.
- Amber lines are the urban expressways inside the ring: UER-II and the Dwarka Expressway.
- The lime line is Namo Bharat, the 82 km rapid rail line from Sarai Kale Khan to Meerut; the violet web is the Delhi Metro.
- Dashed lines are planned: the Delhi-Karnal and Delhi-Bawal Namo Bharat lines, awaiting Union Cabinet approval, and UER-II’s eastern extension, at the design stage. Their routes are drawn approximately along the announced corridors.
- Delhi’s boundary is dotted; state and national boundaries are the Survey of India’s.
A Decade Of Delay: 2005 To 2014
The Supreme Court ordered both expressways in 2005 to decongest and de-pollute Delhi. For the eastern road, nothing was built for a decade: a 2008 private tender drew a single bid and was never awarded, and a February 2014 approval drew no bids at all. The western road was contracted by Haryana in 2006 with a 2009 deadline; it was about 64% built by October 2011, then stalled amid funding troubles and disputes, and missed deadline after deadline. Not one kilometre of either road was open by May 2014. In January 2015 the Supreme Court told the government: “For last ten years you did nothing.”
A Ring Around Delhi
The Eastern Peripheral Expressway was re-tendered in 2014 as six government-funded packages, its foundation stone was laid in November 2015 and it opened in May 2018, built in about 500 days against 910 scheduled. The Western Peripheral was re-awarded in 2015, its Manesar-Palwal stretch opened in 2016 and the whole road in November 2018. Together they form a ring of about 270 km. In March 2026 the Supreme Court raised the green levy on trucks entering Delhi and said vehicles not bound for the city must use the peripheral expressways.
Expressways Out Of Delhi
The Delhi-Meerut Expressway opened fully in April 2021, the Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot stretch of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway in February 2023, the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway in April 2026 and the first 158 km of the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway, which starts on the Western Peripheral, in July 2026. The DND-Faridabad-KMP link from south Delhi to the ring is running in Haryana and on trial in Delhi, but not yet formally commissioned.
Inside The Ring
Two urban expressways now carry traffic along Delhi’s western edge instead of through its centre. The Dwarka Expressway opened in Haryana in March 2024 and in Delhi in August 2025. UER-II, a 76 km ring road through outer Delhi, was inaugurated in August 2025; an eastern extension towards Loni and Noida has been approved in principle and is at the design stage.
Rail That Takes Cars Off The Road
Namo Bharat, India’s first regional rapid rail line, opened in stages from October 2023 and runs the full 82 km from Sarai Kale Khan to Meerut since February 2026. Lines to Karnal (136 km) and Bawal (93 km) have been cleared by the Public Investment Board and await Union Cabinet approval. The Delhi Metro has grown from 190 km in 2014 to 395 km by December 2025, with 22 km more in March 2026; a TERI study for DMRC estimated it took 6.4 lakh vehicles a day off Delhi’s roads in 2024.
Is It Working?
Counts of trucks entering Delhi are patchy. In 2015 the Centre for Science and Environment counted about 52,000 commercial vehicles a day at Delhi’s borders and found that nearly a quarter were not bound for the city. The clearest signal since is the green levy those trucks pay at the border: it fell from ₹473 crore in 2017-18 to ₹94 crore in 2024-25, according to the CAG. The CAG also flagged missing records, and the pandemic and changes in rates affect the figures, so the fall is a sign of fewer trucks rather than an exact count.
Opening dates of the projects on the map. Sections opened before these dates are noted in the cards above.
Sources And MethodShow
Routes: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), via the Overpass API, 9 November 2026. Eastern Peripheral Expressway: PIB, foundation stone 5 November 2015 and build time; opened 27 May 2018 (Scroll); Supreme Court background, M.C. Mehta case (PTI via Business Standard, 18 April 2018); 2008 tender (Business Standard, 24 December 2008); February 2014 approval and failed tender (PTI via Business Standard, 28 February 2014; Business Standard, September 2014 and September 2015); Lok Sabha replies, 2005 and 2012. Western Peripheral progress and delays, 2006 to 2015: Supreme Court order of 13 May 2016 in M.C. Mehta; IANS via Business Standard, December 2014 and February and July 2015; Business Standard, July 2013. Supreme Court remark, 16 January 2015: LiveLaw. Western Peripheral Expressway: concession signed 2006 and re-awarded 2015, Manesar-Palwal finished March 2016, Kundli-Manesar inaugurated 19 November 2018 (Hindustan Times; India TV). Delhi-Meerut Expressway: fully opened 1 April 2021 (Business Standard). Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot: PIB, 12 February 2023. DND-Faridabad-KMP link: Business Standard, Tribune and Construction World, 2024-2026. Dwarka Expressway: PMO, 11 March 2024 (Haryana); The Week (PTI), 17 August 2025 (Delhi). UER-II: inaugurated 17 August 2025 (Tribune; Indian Infrastructure); eastern extension: ThePrint, Hindustan Times, 2025. Delhi-Dehradun Expressway: PIB, 14 April 2026. Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway: PMO, 17 July 2026. Namo Bharat: NCRTC; PIB; PMO, 22 February 2026; Delhi-Bawal and Delhi-Karnal: Indian Infrastructure (November 2025), Swarajya (October 2026). Delhi Metro: 190.03 km in 2014, Delhi Economic Survey via PTI; 395 km, PIB, December 2025; 22.2 km opened 8 March 2026, PIB; vehicles off roads, TERI study for DMRC, PIB, 13 March 2025. Green levy (Environment Compensation Charge): CAG report, via The Wire, August 2026. Supreme Court order on the charge: LiveLaw, 12 March 2026. Truck survey: Centre for Science and Environment, October 2015. Boundaries: Survey of India via DataMeet India community (CC BY 4.0); Yamuna: Natural Earth (public domain).