Delhi University’s South Campus skywalk back to drawing board

NEW DELHI: The 670m-long skywalk connecting Delhi University’s South Campus to Durgabai Deshmukh Metro Station near Benito Juarez Marg, which is a part of the RTR project, is likely to get delayed. PWD officials say the key infrastructure project will require redesigning.
The construction of the overall RTR project, which includes the skywalk and an underpass, started in November 2014 to decongest Outer Ring Road between IIT and National Highway-8 to offer relief to people travelling to and from Indira Gandhi International Airport.

A senior PWD official said the design of the skywalk was being changed slightly as prefabricated parts that were supposed to be mounted on pillars were expected to be built by a French company.
“The pandemic and frequent lockdowns derailed these plans. We will not be able to import these prefabricated parts for assembly. We are in touch with a Chandigarh-based company for manufacturing the parts to complete the project. There hasn’t been much progress on the skywalk,” added the official.
A Y-shaped 1.2km-long underpass is currently being constructed between Benito Juarez Marg and San Martin Marg to decongest Ring Road and the Dhaula Kuan stretch. As a part of the project, a skywalk starting from Benito Juarez Marg near Springdales School is also being constructed. All the pillars for the skywalk have been completed. Just like the skywalk at ITO, prefabricated parts would be mounted on the pillars.
An official said the underpass was in the middle of Benito Juarez Marg, which made the existing single lanes on both sides of the approach roads narrower. “The skywalk will increase the safety of pedestrians, while keeping traffic uninterrupted,” added the official. South Campus and Satyaniketan are likely to benefit the most from the skywalk.
“Once the parts are ready, it will take at least six months to assemble and weld them onto the pillars. Earlier, a coffee shop was planned along with the skywalk, but it seems unlikely considering the delay and cost escalation of the project,” said the official.
PWD is currently focusing on completing the digging work under Ring Road for the underpass. The sixth deadline for the underpass was earlier announced to be August 31, which is likely to be breached.