Govt in a race against time to finish flyover parallel to RTR

ON THE SLOW TRACK The new flyover that is likely to make the ride to the airport easier is only 11% complete

With only 11% work completed in two years, the Delhi government is racing against time to meet the June 2018 deadline to complete the three-lane flyover that will run parallel to the Rao Tula Ram (RTR) bridge.

The new flyover will be longer than the existing one and will make the ride easy to the airport.

The 2.7-km flyover will start from the Palam (Munirka) flyover and will take the commuters till the Army base, where another flyover connecting NH-8 begins.

The Unified Traffic and Transportation Infrastructure (Planning and Engineering) Centre, the agency entrusted with the responsibility to approve projects related to road and transport infrastructure for Delhi, had approved the PWD’s plan to construct an elevated road between the Palam flyover and Subroto Park in 2014.

According to the plan, the PWD has to construct a threelane elevated loop or a wing from the Munirka flyover, which will run parallel to RTR flyover and land just before NH8.

“But as we started construction, the project hit a hurdle. First, the Vasant Vihar RWA went to court. The case is still on with work being monitored by the court,” the PWD official said.

“Then there were several utilities such as water pipe lines, electricity wires and telecom lines that had to be shifted. Almost 90% of the utilities have been shifted and we should be able to meet the deadline,” the official added.

Ahead of the CWG in 2010, the PWD had built three flyovers between IIT Gate and NH8 along Outer Ring Road to make the stretch signal-free.

Ever since it opened in 2009, the RTR flyover in south Delhi has been a nightmare for

motorists.

While the first two flyovers near IIT Gate and Munirka have double carriageways, the narrow and single carriageway RTR flyover becomes a bottleneck.

Though there was no official explanation on why the flyover was made single carriageway, the PWD is now focusing on the new flyover so that the congestion can be removed.

The new flyover will be for “Traffic between Nelson Mandela T-point and existing RTR flyover need to be blocked. We have had a meeting with traffic police and after addressing their concerns, the traffic changes will be implemented”

airport-bound traffic while the existing one will be for the commuters coming from airport.

“While those coming from Nelson Mandela Marg will have to take left towards airport and take the new flyover, those coming from Nehru Place side can take the Palam flyover and then take the new flyover as it will be connected with it. It will go past the existing flyover and end 500 metre beyond it,” the official said.

The cost of the three-lane flyover is ₹203 crore. The permission to cut trees was another hurdle for the project.

“There were 454 trees that were to be cut and we were told to plant these many trees in the same area, which was a difficult task. We have completed the process so almost all the blockages have been removed,” the officer said.

There were 454 trees that were to be cut and we were told to plant these many trees in the same area, which was a difficult task...