Former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit. (File)

Former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, who had proposed construction of the Signature bridge in 2004, said that while she is happy the long-awaited project was inaugurated on Sunday, no party should claim ownership for the same. The bridge has been completed after a delay of eight years.

Calling it a “city project”, she said, “The bridge has been made for the convenience of residents of Delhi; it does not belong to any political party. We started the project to ease traffic issues in the capital, so that people can benefit after its completion. The bridge belongs only to the people of Delhi,” Dikshit told The Indian Express.

On the numerous delays, Dikshit said the Congress government never delayed any decisions related to this project. “We chose the design of the bridge… We never had any financial problems and all the files related to this project were cleared immediately.”

Delhi’s Signature bridge was inaugurated on Sunday, November 5. (Express photo)

Meanwhile, Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken tweeted, “The Congress conceptualised and built most of the iconic Signature bridge. AAP gov first delayed the project — now taking the credit. Kejriwal should’ve respectfully invited Sheila Dikshit and J P Agarwal as they were the real architects of this project”.

The bridge is set to reduce travel time between north and northeast Delhi. The Western and Eastern approaches to the Bridge will connect nearby areas such as Timarpur, Nehru Vihar, Wazirabad, Aruna Nagar, Mukherjee Nagar on Ring Road to Bhajanpura on Mangal Pandey Marg. The travel time between the two sides of the bridge will be reduced from 45 minutes to just 10 minutes.