The Lucknow-Agra six-lane expressway, the longest in the country at 302 km, was formally opened on Monday with a spectacular ‘touch-and-go’ manoeuvre of take-offs and landings by six IAF fighter planes.
Three Mirage 2000s and three Sukhoi SU30 MKI of the IAF kept the audience spellbound with a brief touchdown on the expressway before taking off again.
The new road, upgradable to eight lanes, has a 3-km stretch designed for emergency take-offs and landings of fighter planes.
Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh opened the access-controlled highway at Ganj Moradabad strip of Unnao, 50 km from here. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, who was present, had said last month that the Expressway opening would be a birthday gift for his father, who turns 78 on Tuesday.
Along with the Lucknow Metro, the expressway is the star component of Mr. Yadav’s infrastructure pitch, and a key aspect of the SP’s 2017 Assembly election campaign.
“The aim of the air show is to check feasibility of using expressways as airstrips in extreme emergencies or due to non-availability of runway. The ‘runway’ portion of the Expressway has a special RCC construction and markings for aircraft,” a defence spokesperson said.
Built in 23 months, the road will cut travel time from Lucknow to Agra by three-and-a-half hours, making it a six-hour journey.
Delhi is ‘closer’
This makes the Uttar Pradesh capital more accessible to New Delhi. It joins the Yamuna Expressway at Agra to connect Delhi.
The highway covers Lucknow, Unnao, Kanpur and Hardoi districts before going through the Yadavs’ stronghold of Kannauj, Auraiya, Mainpuri, Etawah and Firozabad.
Mr. Yadav said it would help farming, tourism and industry. Farmers could access bigger markets. BSP president Mayawati said the SP government had opened an incomplete facility in a hurry.
