After missing 4 deadlines, Sector 71 underpass opens partially to public

Noida: After missing four deadlines between December 2020 and October this year, the 780-metre six-lane Sector 71 underpass partially opened to the public on Wednesday. While vehicular movement from Wave City Centre metro station towards Parthala roundabout and Greater Noida West has commenced, officials said traffic flow on the second side will begin post-Diwali.
A long-pending demand of residents living in adjacent sectors, the underpass will allow a seamless commute from City Centre mall to Greater Noida West through Vikas Marg. On Monday, a team from the Noida Authority had inspected the underpass and given its approval for the partial opening, officials said.
“We have opened one side of the Sector 71 underpass on Wednesday. For the next two days, we will monitor the traffic flow on it and the complaints, if any, regarding the cuts and access points. The second side is likely to be opened by November 5,” Mukesh Vaish, senior manager of Noida Authority, said, adding that the underpass will continue to remain under trial for the next 15 days.
Access points to the service lanes along the underpass, Vaish said, will be shut up to the Balaknath temple now. While a U-turn near the temple will remain open but modifications may be expected based on feedback from commuters, the official added.
Commissioned on June 14, 2019, at a cost of Rs 52.58 crore, the underpass has earlier missed its December 2020 deadline due to Covid-19 and subsequent NGT restrictions on construction activities. Later, issues related to a metro pillar alignment and subsequent permissions from the DMRC and monsoon led the Authority to miss three further deadlines between January and October this year. As a result of this, the cost of construction also went up by Rs 6.77 crore, taking the total to Rs 59.35 crore.
The underpass has been a long-pending demand for people living in Sectors 51, 52, 61, 62, 70 -79, 121 and 122 who can now access it to reach signal-free destinations from both Parthala roundabout to Wave City Centre as well as from 7x sectors’ to Sectors 61-63. So far, commuters had to take detours via MP2 elevated road.