Commuters travelling between Gurgaon, Pataudi and Rewari may soon get partial relief as the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) plans to open the service lanes of the Gurgaon–Pataudi–Rewari highway later this month.
Service Road to Open First
In the first phase, traffic will be allowed on the service road, while the main carriageway on certain stretches remains pending due to technical and regulatory clearances. Officials said most structural components of the corridor are nearing completion, but specific sections are still awaiting approval.
Load-bearing drain work near the Dwarka Expressway and a transmission line crossing the stretch have delayed full commissioning. As an interim measure, NHAI has decided to operationalise the service lanes within the next seven to ten days.
Boost to Regional Connectivity
Once fully functional, the corridor is expected to significantly improve connectivity between Gurgaon, southern Haryana and Rajasthan. It will also ease congestion on the busy Delhi–Jaipur highway and provide a faster route for commuters and freight traffic moving to and from industrial hubs such as Manesar, Bilaspur and Dharuhera.
Project Delays and Environmental Hurdles
The Rs 900 crore project was inaugurated in July 2020 and was originally targeted for completion in December 2022. However, construction began later and faced repeated delays due to utility shifting issues and pending approvals.
In September 2022, work was halted after intervention by the National Green Tribunal over forest clearance concerns. Environmental groups had objected to the compensatory afforestation plan, arguing that planting trees 300 kilometres away would not offset local environmental loss.
In April 2024, the Supreme Court permitted NHAI to resume work, directing that compensatory afforestation be carried out within the city.
With service lanes now set to open, authorities hope to gradually roll out the remaining sections and bring the long-delayed highway closer to full completion.
