Delhi’s infra on slow track
STILL STUCK HT takes a look at 10 projects that have been plagued with delays and have now ended up causing traffic jams across the capital
NEW DELHI: In 2008, when a flyover to decongest central Delhi was proposed, Delhi had a little over 60 lakh registered vehicles. The cost of the Rani Jhansi project then was ₹177 crore. It was to be completed by mid-2009. Almost a decade has passed, and roads still remain dug up today. There is traffic and congestion around the construction site. Men are still at work. In the 10 years since, Delhi’s vehicle population has increased to 1.04 crore. The estimated cost of the project today stands over ₹700 crore.
This flyover is not a lone project. Hindustan Times takes a look at 10 such road infrastructure projects that were planned to decongest Delhi, but have now been reduced to works infamous for missing repeated deadlines.
Instead of solving the problem, some of these projects have instead created traffic bottlenecks which often spill over even to off-peak hours.
According to traffic experts, bolstering road infrastructure is one of the basic pre-requisites to clearing clogged stretches.
“Realising this need, several projects including elevated roads, flyovers, underpasses and a ring road in outer Delhi were planned. But, none of the projects planned for this purpose could be completed. In fact, two projects are still awaiting financial nod from the government,” said KT Ravindran, urban designer and former chairperson of Delhi Urban Arts Commission.
Over the next 10 days, Hindustan Times will give the updated status of these projects and also highlight how the repeated delays have affected the people living around it.
S Velmurugan, senior principal scientist in the traffic engineering and safety division at the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) said such delayed projects not only create traffic problems, but also add to dust and vehicular pollution. “The Rani Jhansi flyover should have come up 15 years back. Had it been built on time, it would have made a huge positive impact on the traffic in the central and northern part of the city. Similarly, the Signature Bridge would have streamlined traffic mess in northeast part of the capital,” he said.
Another glaring example of inordinately delayed projects is the 2.7-kmlong flyover being constructed parallel to the existing one on Rao Tula Ram Marg. Velmurugan said authorities should have completed this project on priority as it falls on a crucial stretch connecting south Delhi with the airport.
Being touted as India’s first asymmetric cable stayed bridge, the Signature Bridge is another decade-old project which is running eight years behind schedule. Being built on Yamuna, it aims to reduce the travel time between north Delhi, north-east Delhi, and Ghaziabad. Similar is the case with Sultanpuri rail overbridge and underpass where only 23 % work has been completed.
Construction of 3.5-km long Barapullah phase-3 elevated road – connecting Mayur Vihar-i in east Delhi to Sarai Kale Khan in south Delhi — started in 2015 and was scheduled to be completed by October 2017, but acquisition of two patches of private land measuring 500 metre and 250 metre has delayed the project as major work has “stopped”. Once completed, it will decongest Nizamuddin Bridge and NH-24 Bypass near the Akshardham flyover, Bhairon Marg and Ashram Chowk at Ring Road.
Based on their deadlines, most of these projects are set to be completed within this year.
But going by the past record of these projects, it is clear that such deadlines are not set in stone. This will connect existing Barapullah-i with INA market This 3.5km elevated road will connect Mayur Vihar-i with the existing Barapullah-i corridor in Sarai Kale Khan to ease traffic on NH-24, Ring Road, Bhairon Marg The tunnel will ease traffic at Ashram Chowk giving signal-free access for commuters between Nizamuddin and New Friends Colony It will improve connectivity between airport and south Delhi. The flyover will start near Munirka flyover and end near Army Hospital This 800m flyover in front of Mayur Vihar-i Metro station will provide seamless traffic on Noida Link Road The semi-circular stretch or the Urban Extension Road 2, will work as third ring road of the city and link NH-1, NH-10 (towards Rohtak) and NH-8 (towards Gurugram) for vehicles entering the city from Karnal It’s aimed to ease traffic in and around Sultanpuri area Under the plan, two flyovers and an underpass will decongest 6.5km-long stretch of the Mangal Pandey Road in northeast Delhi. It is likely to saving as much as 50 minutes of travel time