5 days ago
Signal-free flyover proposed to ease congestion on routes connecting South Delhi with Gurgaon and Noida
Not just during the peak hours, many key stretches in South Delhi witness traffic snarls throughout the day. The Central government has finally come up with a proposal to decongest such areas — a 20-km elevated corridor to connect prominent areas in South Delhi to Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport and Gurgaon.
The flyover will connect areas around AIIMS in South Delhi to Mahipalpur in Southwest Delhi. The bypass project will further be extended to the Gurgaon-Faridabad Road, said officials. The signal-free elevated corridor is estimated to cost around Rs 5,000 crore.
'At present, both Ring Road and Outer Ring Road are arterial routes, especially from Noida and Ghaziabad, for commuters travelling to Delhi airport and Gurgaon…These two stretches also provide connectivity between Noida via the DND flyway and Faridabad. Heavy traffic merges at NH-48, the Delhi-Gurgaon highway. So, traffic jams are witnessed daily,' said a senior official from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
Officials said that the corridor will start from AIIMS and connect to Nelson Mandela Marg in Vasant Kunj via Ring Road. At Nelson Mandela Marg, the Centre is planning to construct a 5-km-long tunnel, which will connect the airport and Dwarka Expressway.
'This corridor will be merged with a tunnel, and another corridor will be constructed towards Gurgaon and Faridabad Road,' said a senior NHAI official, adding, 'The elevated corridor from AIIMS to Nadira Marg, further connecting to Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road and Gurgaon-Faridabad Road, will act as a parallel corridor between Delhi and Gurgaon.'
The projects, to be executed by the NHAI, were discussed in a meeting between Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, and L-G Vinai Kumar Saxena last week.
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The Inner Ring road that connects Noida via Ashram, DND flyway and the Outer Ring Road from Kalindi Kunj is surrounded by upscale areas like Lajpat Nagar, Maharani Bagh, Moolchand, South Extension, Nizamuddin, Greater Kailash, Panchsheel Enclave, Pamposh Enclave, Chirag Dilli, Nehru Place, CR Park and is largely used by residents of South Delhi. The upcoming corridor will be a major relief to residents, officials said.
Officials said the estimated cost of this project is Rs 5,000 crore, but it will be finalised after a feasibility study is done. 'Once the feasibility study is done, the existing flyovers, underpasses and metro lines will also be studied. Then a decision will be taken to go for a complete elevated corridor or there will be elevated plus underground…These are routine processes done during any upcoming new project,' said the official.
In 2019, the Public Works Department in Delhi had submitted a proposal for the bypass project. While the PWD was the executing agency, the funding was to be done by the Centre.
The AIIMS-Mahipalpur elevated corridor project, however, did not take off due to the pandemic. The project is now on track, according to officials.
'Currently, the bids for preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR) have been invited, which are to be received by June 27,' said officials.
This is one of the six other major upcoming infrastructure projects being planned by the Central government to decongest Delhi and improve connectivity between Delhi and neighbouring cities in NCR.
Under these mega projects, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways also has a plan to construct an interchange at Kalindi Kunj intersection of Delhi-Noida Road and Agra Canal Road near Okhla Barrage. The 0.5 km stretch is expected to cost Rs 500 crore. Officials said that a feasibility study was conducted by PWD in Uttar Pradesh through the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) in November 2022 to address the traffic problems faced by the daily commuters using the Kalindi Kunj metro station and those travelling between Delhi, Noida, and Faridabad.
'In its report, CRRI recommended the construction of an interchange and flyovers at the Kalindi Kunj intersection to eliminate the conflict of traffic. During the recent meeting, it has been emphasised to address severe traffic congestion at Kalindi Kunj, and it was suggested to NHAI to prepare a DPR for an interchange at Okhla Barrage, considering CRRI's report and the urgency of immediate remedial action,' said the officials..
Bids for preparing the DPR for this project have been invited and are expected to be received by June 23.
