How long to resurface an e-way? 12 missed deadlines & counting

Noida: A six-month job to resurface the 25km Noida-Greater Noida Expressway has not been completed in almost two years, with 11 deadlines having gone by after the original one set for June 2021.
Several reasons for the delays have been cited by the company tasked with resurfacing the road, among them a shortage of construction material and labour, bad weather conditions and the NCR construction ban, Noida Authority officials said on Friday.
Once in a while, VIP visits to Gautam Budh Nagar have briefly halted work on the expressway, they said.
“Work was stopped due to technical reasons or when there was shortage of material and labour. Official visits also pushed the deadline further,” said KV Singh, senior manager, Noida Authority.
CS Infraconstruction Ltd, a Sonbhadra-based company, missed the latest deadline of December 20. Before that, it had to halt work on the Rs 70-crore project ahead of the November 30 deadline as construction activities were banned in NCR due to high air pollution levels. TOI reported in November-end that the company had asked the Authority for a one-month extension, but it was allowed 20 days to finish the job.
Singh said work is ongoing on the remaining 5km stretch left to be resurfaced.
“The work is continuing in the last portion. In case they seek any further extension, the higher authorities will decide on what action is to be taken against them,” the senior manager said.
Asked about the reasons for not initiating any action against the company or assigning the work to another company, Authority officials said that the company has completed a majority of the resurfacing work.
“Had it not been the last 5km stretch of the expressway that is to be resurfaced, we could have changed the agency, but at this stage, it is not feasible. We will get the work finished from the existing company,” Singh said.
In the two years since work began in January 2021, the Noida Authority has imposed penalties amounting to Rs 3.27 crore on CS Infraconstruction for breaching multiple deadlines.
Company officials could not be reached for comment till Friday night.
While this goes on, lakhs of commuters and motorists who frequently take the road must navigate driving on the expressway without lane markings.
“Since it is a high-speed corridor, it is especially risky not to have proper lane markings on the expressway. Those driving two-wheelers are the most vulnerable in such a case,” said Shivank Gupta, a resident of Greater Noida (West) who takes the stretch to his office every weekday.
Mohammed Aarif, a Greater Noida-based businessman, said it was “unimaginable” that work on the road was still pending. “Thousands of vehicles take the route daily. The authorities must take action,” he said.
A resident of Noida, Amit Singh raised the problem of uneven and cratered patches on sections of the expressway. “Parts of the road are dangerous, not just for two-wheelers but also for car users. The road needs to be leveled properly, with adequate markings to ensure safety of commuters,” Singh said.