Gorakhpur Link Expressway inaugurated: Check route, toll charges, opening date, entry and exit points

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday inaugurated the Gorakhpur Link Expressway on Friday, marking a major boost to road connectivity in India's most populous state.

The expressway connects Jaitpur near National Highway-27 in Gorakhpur to Salarpur in Azamgarh, linking directly to the Purvanchal expressway. It passes through four districts—Gorakhpur, Sant Kabir Nagar, Ambedkar Nagar, and Azamgarh.

Built as a four-lane, fully access-controlled road, the expressway is designed for future expansion to six lanes.

Gorakhpur Link Expressway Key routes:

The Gorakhpur Link Expressway stretches from Jaitpur (near NH-27) in Gorakhpur to Salarpur in Azamgarh, where it gets connected to the Purvanchal Expressway.

Spanning four districts — Gorakhpur, Sant Kabir Nagar, Ambedkar Nagar and Azamgarh — the fully access-controlled, four-lane expressway is designed for future expansion to six lanes.

The project, including land acquisition, costs Rs 7,283.28 crore.

Construction was divided into two phases -- Jaitpur to Phulwaria (48.317 km) by APCO Infratech Pvt Ltd and Phulwaria to Salarpur (43.035 km) by Dilip Buildcon Ltd.

The expressway will reduce travel time between Gorakhpur city and its southern areas such as Urwa, Dhuriyapar, Khajni and Belghat, the statement said.

Travel from Gorakhpur to Urwa, which currently takes around an hour, will now take just 20–25 minutes via the expressway. Moreover, the expressway provides a swift and convenient route from Gorakhpur to Lucknow.

With its access-controlled design and linkage to the Purvanchal Expressway, the journey from Gorakhpur to Lucknow will take just about three and a half hours. The route also offers improved connectivity to Delhi and Agra, ensuring a faster and safer travel experience.

What are starting and ending points?

• Starting point: Jaitpur (District-Gorakhpur) NH-27
• Ending Point: Salarpur (District Azamgarh) at Purvanchal expressway.

What would be toll charges?
The toll charges are yet to be announced by the government. However, it is expected that the charges could be similar to that of Purvanchal expressway.

What are future plans
CM Yogi Adityanath said that the work of the Agra-Lucknow Expressway was half done but during his tenure projects related to six expressways in the state have been completed.

"The work on the Agra Lucknow Expressway was half done. Today I am happy to tell you that we have completed six projects. You are witnessing the journey of the Purvanchal Expressway. We are continuously building it since 2021. In 2022, the Bundelkhand Expressway has been started. It is 300 km long. The 340 km long Purvanchal Expressway has already been completed and its connectivity to Patna is about to be completed. Now remember how easy the connectivity from Patna to Lucknow and Lucknow to Delhi will become", CM Yogi said.

He stated that the 340 km-long Purvanchal Expressway is about to extend its connectivity to Patna.