4 flyovers, two underpasses and a U-turn on 12km stretch

NEW DELHI: At a meeting with his Haryana counterpart on Wednesday, CM Arvind Kejriwal agreed to develop an elevated road to decongest the area from Ashram Chowk to

Badarpur

. PWD officials said they have two proposals ready to implement the plan.

While Delhi is coordinating with UP government to resolve land issues in the Kalindi Kunj bypass project, PWD has another plan ready to decongest NH-2 between Subz Burj in Nizamuddin and Ali Gaon near Badarpur. The proposal is awaiting approval from UTTIPEC. A per a feasibility study done by PWD, four flyovers, two underpasses and a U-turn near Apollo Hospital have been proposed on the 10-12km stretch. Sources said the plan was put on hold due to heritage concerns and also because the main focus was on the Kalindi Kunj bypass project.

“We are ready with both options. This proposal (NH-2 decongestion) will augment road capacity and provide smooth traffic flow. Though Kalindi bypass is a long-term solution, there is not much movement on the project,” said an official.

Officials said there was an urgent need to address the traffic problem on NH-2, which doesn’t have much scope for at-grade corridor improvement. PWD had sent the proposal again to UTTIPEC in June last year. UTTIPEC had then asked PWD to take approvals from ASI, traffic and other agencies before it could be discussed at the higher level. PWD officials said they have got ASI’s nod and would place the matter before UTTIPEC soon.

The initial plan, which was submitted in October 2014, was to improve the corridor between Bhogal and Ishwar Nagar on Mathura Road. Two months ago, PWD wrote to UTTIPEC to reconsider the proposal as it had all necessary approvals.

The flyovers have been proposed near Rajdoot Hotel in Nizamuddin, NFC intersection, Ishwar Nagar and Central Road Research Institute. PWD has proposed two underpasses at Ashram Chowk and Ali Gaon. The U-turn is proposed at Apollo Hospital for traffic coming from Badarpur and Faridabad.

While the proposal to construct an

underpass

at Ashram Chowk was accepted, the remaining proposals were dropped by UTTIPEC in August 2015, which was headed by the then LG, Najeeb Jung. Sources said it was dropped as PWD was simultaneously pursuing the Kalindi Kunj bypass project. “It is estimated that Kalindi Kunj bypass will reduce traffic flow by 27-30% on Mathura Road. Based on this, it was decided that this project should be dropped as there is no need to construct so many flyovers and underpasses on a single stretch,” said a senior PWD official.

Officials admit that Kalindi Kunj bypass, when constructed, would take the load off Mathura Road, adding that the improvement of this corridor was the need of the hour as traffic volume has been increasing, which is the only arterial road connecting Faridabad to central Delhi. “Currently, the peak-hour traffic is 8,000-12,000 passenger car units. If this corridor is approved, it will bring down the travel time,” said an official.

PWD officials said that Centre had already approved the scheme to decongest Mathura Road, which is part of ITPO redevelopment project, from Pragati Maidan to DPS school. If this stretch was also approved, it would ease traffic movement on the entire arterial road, the official added.


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