After almost a three-year delay, the 2.7km-long, three-lane flyover parallel to the existing Rao Tula Ram (RTR) flyover will be opened on July 16.

Delhi government officials confirmed that the elevated road, which branches out of the Munirka Flyover and descends before the Army Research and Referral Hospital near Subroto Park close to National Highway-48, will be inaugurated by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday. The new flyover has already missed six deadlines

Once opened, the commuters from south Delhi areas such as Greater Kailash, Munirka, Hauz Khas and Noida will be able to ditch the already clogged Outer Ring Road and RTR crossing to reach the Airport. According to Public Works Department (PWD) officials, the facility is expected to cut travel time from Hauz Khas to the Airport at least by 15 to 20 minutes by reducing around 20% of the existing traffic.

Delhi government officials said that earlier this month the PWD had sent a file regarding inauguration of the flyover to the CM Office.

“The CM has given his consent to inaugurate the newly constructed flyover on July 16. The timing of the ceremony will be around 10.30 am. PWD minister Satyendar Jain will also remain present on the occasion,” a Delhi government official confirmed.

On June 26, HT had reported that the construction work on the six-lane flyway had been completed and was expected to be opened for traffic in July.

Built at an estimated cost of ₹310 crore, the three-lane elevated road is expected to reduce traffic congestion on the Outer Ring Road, RTR Marg and the Ring Road as most of the airport bound commuters use these stretches.

As per Delhi Traffic Police estimates, the stretch—Munirka to RTR Marg—has a daily vehicular movement of around 1.5 lakh vehicles. Most of the traffic gets stuck at the foot of the existing RTR flyover, trying to manoeuvre their way onto the flyover.

The construction on the flyover had begun November in 2014 at a cost of ₹278 crore and was to be completed in two year’s time by November 2016. The flyover will be opened after missing at least six deadlines. The November 2016 deadline was pushed back to September 2017, then to March 2018, then to June, then to December and later to March 2019. The latest deadline was June 2019. The work on the flyover was completed in June 2019.

The constant delays have also increased the cost of the project to an estimated Rs 310 crore from initial cost of ₹278 crore. PWD officials say the delays were triggered by late permission for cutting of trees, shifting of utilities and residents’ opposition.

First Published: Jul 11, 2019 04:48 IST