NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated the 246-km Sohna-Dausa-Lalsot stretch of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, which will cut down the travel time between Delhi and Jaipur from 5-6 hours to around 3.5-4 hours.

The stretch will be opened for the public on Tuesday.Calling the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway 'pragati ki aadhunik path' (the modern road to development), the PM said this is a 'gorgeous picture' of developing India."Now the travel time between Delhi and Jaipur will reduce to half which earlier used to take 5-6 hours.

Think of the time saved because of this project.

Now people who do jobs and business in Delhi or used to travel frequently can return in the evening.

Trucks and tempos which transport goods won't need to spend the full day on the road," he said.The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will start toll collection from the first day.

A single one-way trip between Delhi and Jaipur in a car would cost Rs 585.The travel time between the national capital and the Pink City will further reduce by half an hour by December 2024 when the two under-construction links - DND Flyway (Delhi) to Sohna and Bandikui to Jaipur Ring Road - will be completed.

Modi also laid the foundation stone of the 67-km greenfield Bandikui-Jaipur NH link from the expressway and two other projects on Sunday.Speaking at the event, Union road transport and highway minister Nitin Gadkari said he was confident of people reaching Jaipur from Delhi in two hours when the two new links from DND and Bandikui become operational.

"As per the existing rule, private cars are allowed to travel at a maximum speed of 120 kmph on expressways.

The expressway has been designed better and the maximum speed could be increased.

We will make a decision after proper scientific study.

I strongly believe that the travel time will be reduced to two hours," he said.

The minister reiterated the PM's plan of creating world-class infrastructure in India after assuming office in 2014.

"He had suggested to us the satellite image for the best alignment and we have done it, which has reduced the distance between Delhi and Mumbai by 12% or 275 km," Gadkari said.On the three new highways, the PM said the link from Bandikui will give Jaipur direct connectivity with the expressway.

The second project will connect the expressway with Ambala-Kotputli corridor near Alwar.

This will help vehicles coming from Haryana, Punjab, Himachal and Jammu - Kashmir to travel to Punjab, Gujarat, MP and Maharashtra.

The other project, Lalsot-Karoli road, will also connect the region with the expressway.Modi said the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway and the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor will become two strong pillars of progress for Rajasthan and the country and will transform this entire region.

He said the two projects will strengthen the Mumbai-Delhi Economic Corridor and the road and freight corridors will connect many regions of Rajasthan, Haryana and western India with ports.

Speaking about how the expressway is powered by the PM Gati Shakti Masterplan, Modi said arrangements have been made to lay optical fiber, electricity lines and gas pipelines, and the surplus land will be used for producing solar energy as well as warehousing purposes.