Delhi’s first elevated corridor from Prem Bari Pul to Azadpur, supported on a single pillar is almost ready for operation. This is the first time that this technology has been used in the city and it may be the second such stretch in the country.
Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will inaugurate the elevated corridor on November 10, top sources told The Pioneer. Kejriwal and his Cabinet colleagues would also be present on the occasion.
The Vikaspuri to Wazirabad corridor, which is also being built using the same technology, will be ready for use by December.
“We have built a six-lane road supported on a single pillar. This is the first time that this technology has been used in the city and it may be the second such stretch in the country. It is an improvement on the technology used earlier while building the Moti Bagh flyover, for instance, and the Delhi Metro lines,” said a PWD official.
To create the structure, a 6m-wide central segment called the spine was suspended over a pillar. Then, two segments 9m each were suspended on either side of the spine and the three pieces were connected through cables in a process called stressing’ to make one monolithic structure.
“We deviated from the procedure used by the DMRC by not only linking the segments longitudinally but also transversely,” said the official.
The Prem Bari Pul-Azadpur stretch is roughly 2.5km-long and the elevated road is 1.6km-long. The project will help decongest Ring Road while the 23.6km-long Vikaspuri-Wazirabad project will make the journey on this part of Outer Ring Road signal-free.
The Vikaspuri-Wazirabad stretch is a composite project comprising four sub-projects. The elevated portions will include a 2.6km stretch between Vikaspuri and Meera Bagh, a 1.6km one between Mangolpuri and Madhuban Chowk and a 1.4km stretch between Madhuban Chowk and Mukarba Chowk.
The three flyovers will come up at Bhalswa, Burari and Mukundpur. Officials say that the project is expected to reduce travel time from 1.15 hours during non-peak hours to about 25 minutes.
Officials said the technology being used to construct both stretches was expected to bring down the cost of the project by about 20 per cent as compared to other technology.
“Not only will we save on the cost of concrete since the structure will be lightweight, the Government will also save on land. While twin pillars occupying 8m space are usually used in traditional flyovers, the use of a single 3.5m-wide pillar instead will necessitate use of an area measuring just 4.5m. In fact, with land at a premium and now often difficult to come by, the Government is thinking of making use of this technology a norm and will plan more elevated stretches in future,” he said.