VASANT KUNJ‑AIRPORT ROUTE TO BE SIGNAL‑FREE
1.2km underpass below NH8 will help commuters avoid jams at Mahipalpur, cut travel by 30 minutes
Commuters going from Vasant Kunj to Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport will soon get to travel signal-free.
The Delhi government has finalised the proposal of an underpass between Vasant Kunj and the airport. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has also given its go ahead for the project, which the Public Works Department (PWD) hopes to complete before the end of 2019.
Apart from an underpass at National Highway 8, a flyover on the Vasant Kunj side and another one on the airport side has been proposed, which will cut travel time by 30 minutes.
“Commuters coming from Vasant Kunj road almost always get stuck in the traffic jam near Mahipalpur. We have now built a new road so that commuters can avoid the Mahipalpur intersection. But, they still have to cross NH-8 to come to the airport side. Therefore, an underpass has been proposed so that commuters can directly go to the northern access road, popularly known as airport approach road,” said a PWD official.
Officials said the flyovers at the Vasant Kunj side and airport side will be around 1km long each while the length of the underpass would be 1.2km. Cost of the project was estimated to be around Rs 188 crore, with around 80% of the money coming from the from Union ministry of urban development, which is funding some projects to decongest Delhi.
“On the northern Mahipalpur bypass road, a one-way flyover will be constructed for commuters going to Vasant Kunj. Similarly, the flyover on airport road will cater to traffic coming from the airport. The underpass, however, will cater to the traffic from both sides,” the official added.
The PWD has got approval from AAI and DDA for the project and is in discussion with NHAI as the underpass has to be constructed below the highway. If required, NHAI will construct the underpass.
In November last year, the Delhi government was directed by the high court to finalise a plan to build an underpass at the Mahipalpur crossing.
For better connectivity to the airport from south Delhi, PWD is also making the Rao Tula Ram Flyover two-way. The new Rao Tula Ram flyover will be longer than the existing flyover and will make the ride easy to the airport.
The new 2.7km long flyover will start from the existing Palam flyover and will take commuters till the Army base, where the flyover connecting NH-8 will start.