SRINAGAR: Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Thursday said a nearly 40-kilometre stretch of the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway between Pathankot and Dayalachak is expected to open by December 2026, reducing travel time on the route by bypassing the Lakhanpur toll plaza.
In an update posted on X, Singh said the stretch would cut the journey time between Pathankot and Dayalachak from the current 50–70 minutes to around 25–30 minutes.
He described the development as a step towards improving regional connectivity and making road travel easier.
Once completed, the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway is expected to reduce the distance between Delhi and Katra from 727 kilometres to 588 kilometres. The journey time is projected to fall from around 14 hours to six hours.
The expressway is intended to strengthen road connectivity between Delhi, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, including access to Katra, the base camp for pilgrims visiting the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi shrine.
The proposed opening of the Pathankot-Dayalachak section is expected to improve travel efficiency for commuters and other road users travelling through the region.
