Amid cloud on funds, repairs start on broken DSC road below Bhangel flyover after 5-year wait
For the past five years, the stretch has been riddled with potholes and dust patches with construction debris and materials heaped along the roadsides, since construction for the six-lane elevated road began in 2020.
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The elevated road, which was completed earlier this month and handed over to the Authority, is expected to open in Sept, after beautification work.
Noida Authority DGM (civil) AK Arora said it has set a deadline of Dec for the UP Bridge Corporation to complete the work, which includes the road surface, central verge, and drainage. However, funding disputes continue to overshadow the project's progress, with UPSBCL asking Noida Authority to release Rs 20 crore for the construction of the road.
Earlier, UPSBCL claimed that the Noida Authority owed it Rs 219 crore for the elevated road, citing cost escalation, GST differences and interest. It even threatened to invoke arbitration clause to recover the dues. The bridge corporation had also asked to be relieved of the surface-level works, estimating that rebuilding the ground roads would cost an additional Rs 20–25 crore and take around eight months.
Noida Authority officials, however, maintain that the stretch beneath the elevated road stretch was a part of the original contract and could not be "shirked".
Arora said the cost of rebuilding the surface road had already been factored into the elevated road agreement, and once completed, it would significantly ease traffic movement for local commuters.
So far, the bridge corporation has hired a consultant to advise on elevations and drainage to prevent waterlogging on the stretch. It has insisted that revised drawings were needed to complete the road.
The battered stretch beneath the elevated road has long been a sore point for commuters and local businesses.
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The surface was badly damaged during construction, with shop owners in Bhangel market bearing the brunt. Traders there claimed to have lost both customers and revenue because the road remained impassable.
"The 100-ft road turned into a dusty, potholed mess. We suffered financial losses, health problems, and daily traffic jams," said Sandeep Chauhan, district general secretary of the Uttar Pradesh Udyog Vyapar Mandal.
Market associations staged multiple protests over the years, demanding reconstruction. While the Authority carried out patchwork repairs from time to time, comprehensive rebuilding was repeatedly deferred on the grounds of ongoing elevated road work.
Launched in June 2020, the Rs 608-crore Bhangel elevated road missed its target by nearly three years. Stretching from Agahpur pump to NSEZ on DSC Road, it is designed to divert through-traffic onto the elevated while easing congestion on the surface road for commuters to Salarpur, Bhangel, Agahpur and nearby villages.
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