India’s longest wildlife overpass opens on Ranthambore stretch of Delhi–Mumbai Expressway

JAIPUR: A series of animal crossings coming up on a 11.5-km stretch of the Delhi–Mumbai Expressway near the buffer zone of Ranthambore Tiger Reserve (RTR) is set to become the country's longest wildlife crossing, once completed.

The Rs 900-crore project includes both overpasses and underpasses, and has been designed to preserve a key wildlife corridor and allow animals to cross the expressway while avoiding traffic collisions and preventing habitat fragmentation.

The partially-completed project was recently opened to northbound traffic in the Kota-to-Delhi direction, while work on the southbound stretch remains ongoing and is expected to be finished by Sept this year.

Central to the project is a 3.5-km animal overpass system comprising five segments roughly 500 metres each, with gaps between them. It is complemented by a 1.2-km animal underpass constructed to provide safe passage for wildlife beneath the expressway.

"This is the country's longest animal overpass, built in an area that sees regular wildlife movement," said Chirag Sharma, maintenance manager at L&T, the company in charge of the project. "A wide range of animals, including bears, chital, sambar and nilgai have started using both overpasses and underpasses to cross the expressway", he added.

"The underpass stretch is being developed with a dedicated focus on preserving animal movement. It ensures the animal corridor remains undisturbed despite vehicular traffic," a senior NHAI official said.