Decks cleared for 360 view of Delhi from Signature Bridge

NEW DELHI: More than two and a half years after it opened to the public, Delhiites may finally enjoy a 360-degree panoramic view of the capital from an observation deck on the top of the pylon of Signature Bridge.
With a height of 154 metres, more than twice the height of Qutub Minar, the steel and glass deck was completed much after the bridge itself was opened to traffic. Due to various issues, with its unique inclined elevators meant to take visitors atop the pylon primary among them, the deck couldn’t be opened.

“There are a total of four lifts that are absolutely ready, but the permission is needed for allowing tourists to use the lift to reach the observation deck. The first set is the first oblique lifts in the country at 60 degrees,” an official said. As the pylon is shaped like a boomerang and is bent midway, the elevators on the two oblique legs of the pylon are also oblique but with a levelled flooring. The pylon has been divided into four levels
“A permission is required from the labour department’s inspector of lifts. Since this is the first of its kind oblique lift in the country, we have been unable to get the permission till now,” he said.
Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC), a Delhi government body that executed the project, has again written to the departmentfor the permission as similar lifts are operational in other countries.
“We have made the elevators more user friendly and some modifications were also carried out. There were some issues at the point where the visitors would change over from the oblique elevator to the vertical one, but the experience is much more seamless now,” he said.
The entry to the deck will be ticketed. The glass of the deck is laminated and toughened and can withstand wind speed of up to 86 miles per hour.
Apart from being an important link between northeast Delhi and the rest of the city since November 2018, Signature Bridge has also become a favourite place for Delhiites to click selfies.
A dedicated ramp that will ferry tourists from the approach part to the main deck, without disrupting the traffic on the bridge, is almost ready and there will also be a small parking, cafe and a toilet near the approach area. The ramp, coming up along the bridge, veers towards the other side from below the bridge. Near the pylon, DTTDC is creating “selfie points” in a small enclosed area and these facilities are expected to become operational very soon.