Delhi govt to redesign 9 key roads
NEWDELHI:CHIEF minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Tuesday that some of Delhi’s most important but congested stretches will be transformed over the next year with improvements such as eased bottlenecks, wider footpaths, new tarmac and better roadside landscaping.
The work, to be made on nine stretches across the city, is meant to ease congestion, improve the city’s urban aesthetics, and allow more people – particularly those on foot and bicycles – to travel safely.
“We have selected nine stretches, 45km in all, which will be redesigned at the estimated cost of ₹400 crore. This work will be completed in a year. If the experiment is successful, all PWD (public works department) roads will be redesigned on the same model,” the chief minister said at a press conference.
HT reported on March 25 that the Delhi government had approved work on seven of the nine stretches. The improvements were first planned in 2015.
According to Kejriwal, the redevelopment will make the aesthetics of the stretches at par with those in European cities. “In Delhi, it is seen at many places that a six-lane road reduces to three lanes, creating a bottleneck. Our priority will be removing these bottlenecks by [putting in place an] organised lane system and increasing the efficiency of the existing space,” he said.
The stretches selected are AIIMS to Ashram on the Ring Road, Vikas Marg (Laxmi Nagar Chungi to Karkari Mor), the Mayapuri to Moti Bagh stretch of the Ring Road, Wazirabad depot to Rithala Metro station, Britannia Chowk to Outer Ring Road West Enclave, Shivdaspuri to Patel Road, Narwana Road from Mother Dairy to Punch Mahal, Ambedkar Nagar to Defence Colony flyover, and Nigambodh Ghat to Magazine Road crossing.
Experts have often said that much of Delhi’s road network is poorly designed and needs significant changes to improve traffic flow.
“The stretches identified for the pilot project largely remain clogged. Such an initiative will improve the conditions provided it addresses and integrates the needs of all road users starting from pedestrians to a person travelling in a car,” S Velmurugan, senior principal scientist, traffic engineering and safety division, Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), said.
Velmurugan said redesigning was imperative as there were several stretches where congestion was only because of improper geometry of the road and encroachments.
A senior PWD official associated with the project said the improvement will involve removal of objects such as transformers and light poles in the right of way of some roads. “For instance, Narwana Road has many transformer and poles, which would be relocated under the project. Similarly, near Rithala metro station the service lane is used as parking, we will develop this as a public space along with separate NMV (nonmotorised vehicle) lane,” the official said.
Kejriwal said that, under the project, there will be separate stands for autos and e-rickshaws so that they do not park on the streets. Drains and nullahs along these stretches will be redesigned and covered in a way that the water does not flow onto the roads.
According to government officials who asked not to be named, the project was stuck since 2015 due to “bureaucratic hurdles”. A creative team was setup but later disbanded in 2016, one of these officials said, adding that PWD, which is helming the project, then engaged private consultants for redesigning and streetscaping of the nine roads.
In September 2018, PWD sent final designs for approval to the government. The government cleared seven of these in February, and the remaining a couple of months later.
“The work order (allotting the work to concessioner) for AIIMS-ASHRAM stretch was issued yesterday (Monday). Work order for two more stretches namely Vikas Marg and Narwana Road will be issued today (Tuesday). Work for the remaining stretches will be allotted by November 15,” he said.