The Delhi Government’s state of the art Signature Bridge connecting north east Delhi to outer Delhi has been running behind the schedule as it has missed deadlines six times.
The delay in project has resulted in cost escalation from Rs1,131 crore in 2010 to Rs1,594 crore in 2015. The initial cost was pegged at Rs887 crore.
Prolonged delays are going to cost the Delhi Government’s most ambitious and “controversial” Signature Bridge three times more than its costliest ever 4.5 km long Barapulla evelated road project connecting Sarai Kale Khan to Jawaharlal Nehru stadium.
Being constructed by the Delhi Tourism Department, the bridge which was to be completed before the 2010 Commonwealth Games is likely to get operational by December end 2016. The Delhi Government has earlier set the deadline of June 2016.
Top sources said the project is expected to be completed by December end 2016 due to technical reasons. The Tourism Department itself will be charging Rs73.80 crore. While the contingency amount for the project has been fixed at Rs28.93 crore, its consultancy charge will work out at Rs44.28 crore.
Many in the Government felt that the execution of the project should have been tasked to the Public Works Department, which generally handles construction of flyovers, underpasses and major roads in the city and there was no point of awarding contract to the Tourism department.
The Signature project has been persistently marred by delays over the years for various reasons which range from seeking 21 environmental clearances to other financial constraints cited by contractors from time to time.
The redesigning of foundation of the bridge is also said to be one of the major reasons for the delay of the project. Besides, modification in original plan that included increasing of length of bridge from 660 meters to 675 meters and that of its width from 33 to 35.2 meters was another reason for the delay of the project.
The original plan was to construct the bridge with concrete and was later converted into steel pylon. The development of river bed would be part of the second phase of the project.
The Signature Bridge will be a cable-stayed structure with a main span of about 251m. The height of a single inclined steel pylon will be about 154 meters. The central pylon will be made of high-grade steel, which will be manufactured in China.
The existing bridge at Wazirabad, connecting Delhi with Uttar Pradesh, no longer has the capacity to deal with heavy traffic load.
The new bridge is 600m downstream of the existing bridge and will connect Outer Ring Road on the western bank with the Wazirabad Road on the eastern bank of the Yamuna.
The Signature Bridge, which will be replacing the existing bridge at Wazirabad, will be a cable-stayed bridge and link NH-1 near the existing T-point on the western bank with the Marginal Bund Road at Khajuri Khas on the eastern bank of the Yamuna.