India's Longest Wildlife Corridor Unveiled On Delhi-Mumbai Expressway By NHAI
India has built its first wildlife corridor on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway near Ranthambore, featuring overpasses and an underpass to ensure safe passage for tigers and other animals.
For the first time in India, a national highway has been built with wildlife in mind — not as an afterthought, but as a core part of its design. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) recently constructed a 12-kilometre wildlife corridor as part of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, cutting through the buffer zone of the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, reported The Times Of India.
What makes this stretch stand out is its dual purpose: it connects major cities while also giving wild animals a safe, unobstructed path through one of the country’s richest ecological regions. Positioned between the Ranthambore reserve and the Chambal Valley, the corridor supports movement for tigers, sloth bears, antelopes, and several other species native to the area.
It’s a first-of-its-kind in the country. Five elevated wildlife overpasses, each 500 metres long, and a 1.2-kilometre underpass have been built into the highway’s design, making it the longest dedicated wildlife corridor on any Indian road to date.
“This was one of the most challenging stretches of the entire expressway,” Pradeep Attri, Regional Officer at NHAI, was quoted as saying by TOI. “It passes through a critical buffer zone full of biodiversity. We had to be extremely cautious to avoid disturbing the natural habitat.”
The project was guided by experts from the Wildlife Institute of India and the Ministry of Environment and Forests. To prevent animals from straying onto the road, four-metre-high boundary walls were erected on both sides. Two-metre sound barriers were also added to reduce noise pollution that could unsettle nearby wildlife.
Construction crews were on high alert. With wildlife often seen in the area, workers were posted every 200 metres throughout the build phase to monitor movement and avoid accidents. The result? Not a single wildlife-related incident occurred during the entire construction period.
Since the corridor opened, camera traps have already recorded tigers and bears using the overpasses and underpasses.
The corridor isn’t just wildlife-friendly; it’s also environmentally conscious. Over 35,000 trees have been planted along the route. Rainwater harvesting pits were installed every 500 metres, and drip irrigation systems have cut water use by half. The construction also leaned on modular formwork and low-waste techniques to reduce its ecological footprint.
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