In a significant boost to Uttar Pradesh’s infrastructure, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday inaugurated the 91.35 km-long Gorakhpur Link Expressway, built at a cost of ₹7,283 crore, connecting districts like Azamgarh and Gorakhpur in eastern Uttar Pradesh.
Speaking at a public event in Azamgarh, CM Yogi hailed the occasion as a “historic moment for eastern Uttar Pradesh”, asserting that the “new Uttar Pradesh of the new India” is carving out a fresh identity as the “expressway state” with the country’s largest expressway network.
“When there is speed, there will be progress; when there is progress, there will be prosperity; and when there is prosperity, there will be happiness on every face,” CM Yogi remarked, emphasising that the new expressway opens doors to “infinite possibilities of prosperity” in the region.
The Chief Minister criticised the previous state governments, stating that projects like the Agra-Lucknow Expressway remained incomplete, but under his administration, six major expressway projects have been completed, including the Purvanchal and Bundelkhand Expressways.
Highlighting connectivity improvements, CM Yogi said the 340 km-long Purvanchal expressway, already operational, is set to extend its linkage to Patna, which will ease travel from Patna to Lucknow and onwards to Delhi.
In a historical reflection, CM Yogi invoked the memory of Veer Kunwar Singh, the hero of India’s 1857 War of Independence, suggesting that if such expressway connectivity had existed then, the freedom struggle might have succeeded in 1857 itself.
“If the Purvanchal Expressway had been there in 1857, the people of Azamgarh would have defeated the British along with Veer Kunwar Singh, and India would have attained independence then,” CM Yogi said, underlining the transformative power of modern infrastructure in the state’s journey towards progress.
The inauguration reinforces Uttar Pradesh’s aim to become a national leader in industrial growth, logistics, and regional development, powered by a robust expressway network.