Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the first phase of the Delhi-Meerut expressway in Delhi on Sunday.

The 14-lane highway which stretches from Nizamuddin Bridge in Delhi to Delhi-Uttar Pradesh Border, is expected to reduce the travel time between the two cities to only 45 minutes from the present about four to five hours.

Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari was also present at the event.

Following the inaugural ceremony,  Modi had held a roadshow in an open jeep on the expressway with people in huge numbers gathered to witness the show.

This project aims at providing faster and safer connectivity between Delhi and Meerut. People from the NCR, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand will particularly benefit from this project.

Later in the day, the Prime Minister is scheduled to inaugurate the country's first smart and green highway, the Eastern Peripheral Expressway at Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh.

The 135-km expressway is built at a cost of Rs. 11,000 crore.