In a move to make the Dhaula Kuan stretch signal-free right to the end of National Highway-8, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has asked Delhi Police Commissioner and the Delhi Government’s Home Department to shift Dhaula Kuan police chowki somewhere else as the land is needed for widening of Dhaula Kuan T-Junction. The Ministry of Defence has also handed over 13.301 acre of land to NHAI to make decongest Dhaula Kuan upto end of NH-8. At present, about four lakh units of vehicles use this stretch and it’s a traffic nightmare during morning and evening peak hours when huge number of vehicles head towards Gurgaon or towards Delhi.
The NHAI has written to Delhi Police to hand over the land measuring 0.068 acre where police station of Dhaula Kuan is located so that decongestion of Dhaula Kuan plan is executed. The Pioneer has accessed the copy of the letter in which NHAI has sought land of Dhaula Kuan police station to execute improvement of T-junction and widening of road up to NH-8. As per plan, two flyovers and two underpasses has been proposed by NHAI to make the stretch congestion free. This would also help to improve the T-Junction near Defence area including widening of national highway up to Defence area on NH-8.
As per the detailed project report prepared by NHAI, the stretch from Cariappa Marg to Dhaula Kuan will be made signal. The project has been cleared by the traffic engineering body UTTIPEC and sent to the DDA for approval. To facilitate this, a four-lane, one-way, 800-metre flyover will be built over the existing crossing. Vehicles coming from Gurgaon to Dhaula Kuan will use this flyover.
There will also be a three-lane slip road beneath the flyover for vehicles going to Uttam Nagar. The decongestion project will also include removal of two cuts between Dhaula Kuan Metro station and Parade Road crossing. There is a proposal to provide two U-truns, one at Cariappa Marg crossing and another at Parade Road crossing.
According to the plan, the right turn towards Cariappa Marg will be closed. Instead, vehicles will go past the Dhaula Kuan Metro station and make a U-turn under the flyover, then turn left onto Cariappa Marg.
Traffic moving straight towards NH-8 will continue as usual. The straight moving traffic will have a three-lane road, while the U-turn will be a two-lane road. The second flyover will be constructed on Cariappa Marg that will allow smooth vehicular movement from SP Marg to Delhi Cantonment and further up to Jail Road.
To do away with the traffic light at the Parade Road crossing, NHAI will build a 700-metre, one-way underpass for vehicles going towards the Army area from Dhaula Kuan. The second underpass is also planned at Maneck Shaw Bhawan on NH-8.