Delhi to Nepal in 8 hours: India’s Gorakhpur–Sonauli highway is 89% complete — here’s what’s coming

The existing two-lane road witnesses long traffic jams, especially during peak travel seasons. The new four-lane highway will ease congestion, improve safety and make travel significantly smoother for the thousands of tourists, pilgrims, traders and cargo vehicles that use the route daily. (Representative image)

For travellers from Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad and Lucknow, the new highway is expected to reduce travel time considerably — allowing travellers to reach the Nepal border from Delhi in around eight hours under normal traffic conditions. (Representative image)

The four-lane Gorakhpur-Sonauli National Highway (NH-24) — one of India's key international road projects — is in its final phase of construction, with NHAI confirming that approximately 89% of the work on the 79.5-km highway has been completed. (Representative image)

The corridor features a railway bridge, two flyovers, 24 underpasses, more than 100 culverts and nearly 68 km of service roads — alongside an Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS) with CCTV cameras, emergency call boxes, electronic message boards and real-time traffic monitoring.

The highway is currently being developed as four lanes — but has been planned to allow expansion to six lanes if traffic increases in the coming years, future-proofing the investment against the growing cross-border movement between India and Nepal. (Representative image)

The highway is expected to boost tourism to Lumbini — the birthplace of Lord Buddha — and strengthen trade ties between the two countries. Sonauli serves as a major gateway for goods between India and Nepal, and better connectivity will reduce transportation delays and logistics costs significantly.