Pollution curbs delay Noida Link Road flyover, Jan opening likely
SLOWED DOWN Latest delay caused by EPCA restrictions imposed in Nov on construction activity
NEW DELHI: Commuters from Noida will have to wait for another month-and-a-half month for a signal-free ride to Akshardham and other east Delhi areas as the flyover in front of Mayur Vihar-i Metro station has been delayed yet again, officials said.
The flyover, which after repeated delays was supposed to open in early December this year, would become operational only by mid-january next year, officials said.
According to officials working with Public Work Department (PWD), the delay was caused mainly because the Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution Control Authority’s (EPCA) had placed restrictions on all construction activity across the city in early November in the wake of Delhi’s worsening air pollution.
“In early November, construction activities were suspended for 12 days so no work was done during that period. Now, though the ban has been lifted, but under EPCA’S new guidelines construction work can only be carried out during the day. This has reduced the pace of work on the flyover,” a senior PWD official, who did not wish to be identified, said.
This 800m-long flyover, which has already missed several deadlines, will run parallel to an existing flyover on the opposing side on Noida-delhi Link Road.
At present, Noida Link Road sees heavy traffic jams during peak traffic hours in the morning and evening because of ongoing construction work.
At one location underneath the flyover, marshals can be seen stopping traffic every few minutes in order to let pedestrians cross the road, which further hampers traffic flow.
“To get stuck in traffic at this place (near the construction site) on Noida-akshardham road is a regular affair. Every day I waste at least 15 to 20 minutes here in the traffic. The situation even gets worse on weekends when the jam can extend all the way to another flyover before the con-
Carpeting of the main carriageway has been completed and most of the crash barriers have been constructed. We will now fix the expansion joints. This is likely to be completed by next month
A PWD OFFICIAL
struction site. It is very sad that the authorities are not able to construct a single flyover even in three years,” said Amrit Singh, an employee at a private bank in central Delhi who uses the stretch every day.
Construction of this flyover — also a part of Barapullah Phase-3 project — began in May 2015 and was scheduled to be completed by September 2017. But initially the project got delayed because the authorities could not get the forest department’s nod to remove trees on the stretch.
The deadline was rescheduled to February 2018 but this too was missed because the construction of two loops, aimed at managing to and fro traffic from Mayur Vihar-i, could not be completed.
Then the deadline was pushed back to September 2018, but it was missed again due to further delay in the construction of the two loops.
The official, however, said that around over 95% work has been completed on the main carriageway of the flyover and finishing work is also being carried out. “Carpeting of the main carriageway has been completed and most of the crash barriers have been constructed. We will now fix the expansion joints on the flyover. All this work is likely to be completed by next month. We are hopeful that the flyover would be opened by mid-january,” the official said. Once completed, the flyover will make the commute from Noida to east Delhi signal-free.
It also aims to connect commuters directly to the Barapullah Phase-3 elevated corridor, which is under construction.