Barapullah2 to open by Julyend
DECONGESTING DELHI Once open, the 2km stretch will lessen by 20% the traffic burden on congested Ring Road, says CRRI expert
NEWDELHI: Here is some good news for commuters travelling from east Delhi and Noida.
The Delhi government is likely to throw open Phase 2 of Barapullah elevated corridor — 2km stretch connecting Jawaharlal Nehru (JLN) Stadium with INA market — for public use by the end of this month. The stretch, once open, will help commuters bypass the clogged Ring Road to get to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and INA. The project is already delayed by three years.
Officials of the Public Works Department (PWD) said that the elevated road will cut travel time between Mayur Vihar Phase I and AIIMS by around 15 minutes.
“The file seeking a date for the inauguration of the stretch has been sent to PWD minister Satyendar Jain. The construction work has been completed and we are hopeful that the corridor will become operational by the end of this month,” said a PWD official.
Hindustan Times had in June reported that more than 90% construction work on the project had been completed by May .
On Thursday, HT took a ride on the six-lane flyway and found that all the civil work on the stretch had been completed.
When open, this elevated road will also reduce travel time for airport-bound traffic from east Delhi and Noida, as commuters will be able to go over the Sewa Nagar Railway Crossing and Kushak drain to reach Sri Aurobindo Marg. At present, commuters travelling to INA or Sri Aurobindo Marg via Lodhi Colony descend from Barapullah-1 near JLN Stadium and are often caught in traffic snarls. Barapullah phase-i, which connects Sarai Kale Khan and JLN Stadium, has been operational since 2010.
According to PWD officials, construction on the Phase 2 stretch began in 2013 and was to be completed in 2015. However, the project missed the initial deadline due to delay in getting permission for carrying out construction on railway land. It was rescheduled to be open in September last year, but was delayed again due to slow progress of construction. The deadline was revised to December 2017 only to be pushed back to March 2018 and then finally to June 2018.
“The construction of loops from Thyagaraj stadium, INA crossing and Ring Road to get on to the elevated road has also been completed. The length of a loop for the traffic coming from Safdarjung hospital is around 500 metre. The other loops are 250 metre to 300 metre long,” another PWD official said.
Senior principal scientist at Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), S Velmurugan said Barapullah Phase-2 will decongest at least 15% to 20% of traffic on the Ring Road.
“The opening of this stretch will benefit people going towards the airport, Chanakyapuri, Sarojini Nagar, AIIMS Safdarjung, who will now have the option of not taking the Ring Road. However, exit points may witness congestion,” he said.
The Delhi government has approved renaming Barapullah elevated road as Banda Bahadur Flyover.