Four Delhi flyovers set for repair in 2019

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government’s Public Works Department (PWD) will early next year start repair work on four of the city’s busiest flyovers — three in south Delhi and one in North Delhi — that were constructed for the 1982 Asian Games or in the early 1990s after an initial study found they had developed cracks and needed immediate work.

The four are the Lodhi Road flyover on Lala Lajpat Rai Road, the Oberoi flyover on Zakir Hussain Marg, the Chirag Dilli flyover on Outer Ring Road, and the ISBT Kashmere Gate flyover. PWD officials say these flyovers will be repaired on a priority basis because traffic volume is high on the arterial roads they connect.

ISBT Kashmere Gate and Chirag Dilli flyovers witness about 250,000-300,000 vehicles a day, traffic police data reveals. About 150,000-200,000 vehicles use Lodhi Road and Oberoi flyovers daily.

The Lodhi Road and Oberoi flyovers were constructed for the Asian Games held in Delhi in 1982, while the ones at ISBT Kashmere Gate and Chirag Dilli were constructed in 1991 and 1992 respectively.

Earlier this year, the department hired Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Central Road Research Institute (CSIR-CRRI) to inspect the condition of eight flyovers in Delhi, which were constructed in the 1980s and 1990s.

“We identified these four flyovers based on the visual inspection report submitted by CSIR-CRRI.

These flyovers are very old and need immediate repair. We have appointed consultants to do a detailed study on the condition of the four flyovers,” said a senior PWD official familiar with the plan who asked not to be identified.