Ahmedabad-Vadodara Expressway

The Ahmedabad-Vadodara Expressway (designated NE-1, India's first National Expressway) was sanctioned in 1995 and opened to traffic in 2002 — making it India's second access-controlled expressway after the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, and the first to be built and operated directly by NHAI rather than a state PWD.

The 94.3 km four-lane expressway connects Ahmedabad (Gujarat's economic capital) to Vadodara (Gujarat's industrial hub), bypassing the chronically congested NH-8 (now NH-48) through Anand, Nadiad, and Khambhat. L&T and Reliance Infrastructure executed the project under a NHAI BoT-toll concession.

The expressway was a critical proof-of-concept for India's nascent expressway programme — demonstrating that NHAI (then 6 years old) could deliver an expressway-grade project, and validating the BoT-toll funding model for road infrastructure. Its operational success in 2002-2010 directly enabled the Yamuna Expressway, Mumbai Coastal Road, and other expressway-grade projects to be sanctioned with confidence.

Design features include: 4-lane (2+2) divided carriageway, design speed 120 km/h, 4 toll plazas, integrated rest areas with fuel and food, and 12 grade-separated interchanges. The expressway carries ~80,000 vehicles/day and forms the spine of the Ahmedabad-Vadodara industrial corridor. A 6-lane upgrade is currently under sanction.