Speed-crazy youngsters have been tipping the security personnel at the entry points to access the Expressway. "I covered the distance from the Buddha circuit to Kuberpur crossing on Firozabad road in Agra in 70 minutes," said Rohit driving his Innova. Another motor bike rider Pipindra Powar clocked 90 minutes on his Enfield.

To preview the facilities and test the speed limits, this Agratoday.in correspondent with a friend Sudheir, drove through the Expressway, recently starting at 7.00 am from Agra Fort crossing in Agra. "Our driver Man Singh an ex-CRPF man, maintained a steady speed of 80 to 100, with brief stops at the four toll plazas where we were stopped by the security guards but allowed to proceed after we explained the purpose of our drive (trespassing)," Sudheir said.

The drive was comfortable all through, no hiccups, bumps or abrupt stops anywhere. "The elevated road provided a panoramic view of the surroundings. We could see herds of blue bulls (Neel Gai) sitting in the shade far away. The fencing was in progress and groups of men and women were busy planting saplings or grass cuttings. Work on amenities at the toll plazas was nearing completion. To me it looked as if we were pointlessly holding up its opening," Sudhier said.

We reached the Greater Noida intersection at 9 am, close to the Buddha circuit. "From here on we turned left to enter Noida, in 30 minutes due to traffic. The problem started as soon as we entered Delhi and headed for the Indira Gandhi Airport, via Kalindi Bagh and Ashram Chowk flyover. By the time we reached the terminal building it was already 10.50 am."

It thus took three hours 50 minutes to cover the distance from Agra Fort to the Indira Gandhi Terminal. After a brief break "we left Palam at 12 noon to return to Agra, this time via Gurgaon, Sohna, Palwal, Kosi, Mathura. It was 4pm when we were at the Akbar's tomb, Sikandra and in another 20 minutes we could race to the Yamuna Kinara road to finish our parikrama at the Agra Fort," said Sudhier.

Now, if the Yamuna Expressway has been built at an estimated cost of Rs.11,000 crores and acquisition of thousands of acres of fertile agricultural land on both sides and depriving the fields of precious soil, as thousands of tons of sand/soil had to be scooped out to raise the road level, what has been the net gain for the foreign visitors.

A retired engineer SP Singh said "the Expressway was designed for Greater Noida and Ghaziabad, not for the Delhi airport or the tourists, who in any case would prefer to land directly in Agra once the new airport comes up."

But the existing national highway number 2 that connects Delhi with Agra is already being upgraded by the Reliance group. The Palwal, Sohna, Palam road is also being upgraded and widened to allow for more vehicles.

If the Expressway does not find favor with foreign tourists, how will it justify its existence. "The UP government at the moment is more serious about starting work on a new airport either in Mathura or Agra. Simultaneously they have started exploring the feasibility of Pavan Hans helicopter service between Delhi, Mathura and Agra," said hotelier Surendra Sharma.