UP’s longest expressway is ready. Can it bridge the state’s east-west divide?

Rajesh SharmaTIMESOFINDIA.COM
Apr 29, 2026 | 19:43 IST

The new 594-km corridor from Meerut to Prayagraj promises faster travel, but its real test lies in whether it can bring investment, jobs and industry into eastern UP — where development has lagged for decades

Uttar Pradesh has long carried the reputation of India’s “problem state” — marked by weak law and order, poor human development indicators, patchy governance and entrenched corruption.

Over the past decade, however, the state has sought to recast that image. At the centre of this shift is a sustained push to position UP as an infrastructure-led economy — even branding the state as the country’s “expressway capital”.
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