Metro starts freeing up road space at Ashram crossing
CONSTRUCTION WORK DMRC has started removing barricades installed for the construction of Ashram station. Move expected to ease traffic snarls
NEWDELHI: Starting Thursday, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has started removing barricades on south Delhi’s Ashram intersection, freeing up road space for over two lakh vehicles, which cross this stretch daily.
Senior Metro officials said the last barricade will be removed by May end.
The barricades, put up for the construction of Ashram Chowk station on the Pink Line, will be removed in phases. It is expected to ease the traffic flow since the construction work has created bottlenecks, adding to the chaos in the area.
Metro officials said on Thursday night, the barricades on the intersection below the Ashram flyover were removed, freeing 14 metres road space which was occupied for construction activities.
Currently, motorists coming from Lajpat Nagar on the Ring Road get stuck below the flyover, as the narrow road space is not enough to accommodate the high traffic volume on the stretch.
“Ashram was undoubtedly among the trickiest stations on the Pink Line (Shiv Vihar to Majlis Park). However, most of the work on the stretch has been completed and the barricades will be removed in phases starting Thursday,” a senior Metro official said.
Metro officials said after the Lajpat Nagar-new Friends Colony(nfc) stretch, barricades around the Noida-nfc and Noida-south Extension will also be removed by May end.
By May 20, the stretch from Noida towards South Extension — currently being covered by barricades — will be opened for public and by May 31, the stretch from Noida to NFC will also be cleared.
“The traffic situation is much better now. Earlier, the barricades were placed right below the Asham flyover crossing and traffic had to be manoeuvred around these. It was a nightmare,” said Madhav Kumar, a resident of Maharani Bagh, who uses the stretch to reach his office in Noida daily.
The already congested intersection was made worse after the Delhi-noida Direct Flyway (DND) was made toll free, increasing the traffic volume on the stretch.
According to the Delhi Traffic Police, the Ashram intersection witnesses a traffic volume of over two lakh vehicles every day, making it the second busiest stretch in the national Capital after the ITO intersection.
The DMRC officials said that the completion of the Ashram Metro station was a design challenge in itself. Besides the unavailability of the requisite land, one of the main challenges in construction of this station was to relocate the underground utilities such as water and gas pipelines.
“A Delhi Jal Board (DJB) water pipeline below the Lajpat Nagar-nfc stretch had to be diverted, while below the NoidaSouth Extension carriageway, we had to resort to manual excavation because we did not want to cause any damage to the gas pipelines,” the senior Metro official said. Jangpura Barricades Nehru Nagar
There was a proposal to build a 750-metre-long tunnel which will allow signal-free travel from Nizamuddin to New Friends Colony or Jamia Millia on Mathura Road
The PWD had planned to finish work by 2018. However, work has not even started yet
The 13-km project, 5.5 km of which was to be elevated, was expected to decongest Ashram Chowk and Mathura Road
The AAP government revived the project in 2017, after it remained on papers for 16 years. However, nothing has been done yet Sec-33 is the estimated cost of the project
of the cost will be borne by the state public works department, if the project is allotted to the UP State Bridge Corporation Limited
The road will provide seamless connectivity to hundreds of motorists who travel from East Delhi to Noida expressway
At present, motorists face congestion on the two-kilometre stretch that passes through sectors 14A, 15A and 16A on the road that connects East Delhi’s Mayur Vihar-i with Noida expressway
Permission is required from the Delhi government as the Shahdara drain is owned by the Delhi irrigation department
The Noida authority had earlier proposed the road in 2012 and got a detailed project report prepared but could not get Delhi govt’s nod
Ashram was among the trickiest stations to build on the Pink Line. Most of the work on the stretch has been done and the barricades will be removed in phases.
A SENIOR METRO OFFICIAL Mathura Road
Srinivaspuri To Faridabad Chilla, Mayur Vihar Yamuna river Mahmaya flyover