Delhi: Projects worth Rs 1,000 crore to decongest national capital roads

The choked streets of Delhi may soon get a breather with at least five major projects coming up in the next two years. The urban development ministry has approved projects worth nearly Rs 1,000 crore that includes a direct access to IGI Airport from Dhaula Kuan.

A skywalk at Delhi's most congested intersection, ITO and improvement of ring road near ISBT Kashmere Gate are another key decongestion projects that will be funded by the UD ministry.

A senior official said a flyover at Narela will be constructed to connect Urban Extension Road-I and NH-1 (Delhi - Karnal). This will ease out the traffic load on NH-1 and thus decongest Delhi's border with Haryana.

The flyover connecting Mahipalpur to the airport will mitigate the traffic snarls on NH-8 as vehicles coming from south Delhi areas will directly reach the airport via Aerocity.

The UD ministry has sanctioned Rs 150 crore for the flyover, while the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) will fund Rs 38 crore for the same. The flyover will be completed by December 2018, a senior official of UD ministry said.

At present the passengers headed to airport have to wade through heavy traffic near Dhaula Kuan and Mahipalpur. The flyover will not only provide direct access to airport-bound traffic but will also benefit the vehicles headed straight to Gurgaon.

"The northern access road leading to Terminal-3 is already experiencing excessive traffic growth and congestion. The proposed flyover will reduce the traffic load from Mahipalpur as well as the northern access road," officials said. Mail Today had earlier reported that the Delhi government is also considering extending the Barapulla elevated corridor to IGI Airport.

The nearly 10-km elevated corridor is being planned in a way that it will end at the airport approach road so that congestion at Dhaula Kuan could be avoided.

The corridor will reduce traffic congestion in the entire central Delhi, and Barapullah will act as a link between NH-24 in the east and NH-8 in the west of the national capital.

SKYWALK AT ITO

Officials said the Delhi government will be constructing the skywalk at ITO at an estimated cost of Rs 55 crore.

Of this, the UD ministry will fund Rs 43 crore while the remaining amount will be spent by the Delhi government. The 500-meter long skywalk will connect Tilak Marg, Sikandra Road, Mathura Road and Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg with the ITO metro station through sturdy metallic ramps and overhead canopies.

Decongestion of ITO is crucial not only for smooth flow of vehicular traffic but also keeping in view the pedestrian safety.

The project is expected to be completed within six months and will benefit an estimated one lakh pedestrians frequenting between nearly 25 government office complexes in the area. The intersection also sees the movement of nearly 5 lakh vehicles every day.

Sources said that clearances from the Archaeological Survey of India, the Indian Railways and the New Delhi Municipal Council are in the process of being procured and the work is likely to commence soon. Officials said the traffic congestion between ISBT Kashmere Gate and Salimgarh Bypass slows down the vehicular flow on the ring road.

To ease out the situation, the ministry has allocated `19 crore for widening of the ring road. The ministry has also asked the NDMC to expedite the completion of Rani Jhansi Road grade separator, which is already delayed by nearly 8 years. This project aims at decongesting areas like Sadar Bazar, Azad Market and Filmistan in central Delhi.