To decongest traffic at Delhi roads, the Narendra Modi Government will take up highway projects worth Rs 50,000-crore in the national Capital that is battling with the twin problems of air and water pollution.
Addressing an event after laying the foundation stone for a Rs 2,820-crore highway corridor project that will link Akshardham to the Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE) junction on Baghpat road, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said the foundation stone for Dwarka Expressway, to be built at a cost of Rs 10,000 crore, will be laid next week and time has been sought from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for this. The expressway starting from Shiv Murti in Delhi to Kherki Daula in Gurugram is expected to reduce the traffic load on Delhi-Gurgaon expressway.
The project once completed the road will emerge as an alternate route between Delhi-Gurgaon.
According to notification, the 28 km long Dwarka Expressway starts from Shiv Murti in Delhi on NH-8 passes through UER-II (parallel to Terminal-3 of Delhi Airport) up to Barthal Chowk (junction of Sector 25-26 Dwarka) then it will take left turn and go straight up to Kherki Daula in Gurugram and it culminates on NH-8, around one km before Kherki Daula toll plaza at SPR, CPR junction. The 18.1 km stretch of the road is in Gurugram and rest in Delhi.
Gadkari was accompanied by Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Mansukh Mandaviya and Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh.
The minister announced that the work on Delhi-Meerut Expressway will be completed by March, and April onwards, people can reach Meerut from Delhi in 40 minutes instead of the current 3.5 hours.
Listing various projects for Delhi, the minister also said a new ring road Urban Extension Road (UER) will be constructed at a cost of Rs 4,000 crore. The Delhi Master Plan has proposed a UER-II, which connects NH 1, 8 and 10 and this road was proposed to reduce traffic on the Ring Road and Outer Ring Road.
The high-speed signal-free 31.3-km corridor from Akshardham to Saharanpur bypass, for which foundation stone was laid on Saturday, is expected to contribute to decongestion and considerable reduction in pollution levels in Delhi-NCR.
The six-lane access controlled corridor will connect Akshardham in east Delhi to the Eastern Peripheral Expressway junction on Baghpat Road.
The alignment of the road will be from the Akshardham-Geeta Colony-Shastri Park-Khajuri Khas-Delhi/UP border-Mandola-EPE Intersection.
It will be developed in two packages -- first a 14.75 km stretch from Akshardham to Delhi/UP border and the other 16.57 km stretch from Delhi/UP border to EPE Intersection. There will be a 19-km elevated section.
“Delhi is facing problem of air and water pollution. There are frequent traffic jams. We have taken a decision to start work on Rs 50,000 crore highway projects to decongest it,” said Gadkari adding that the pollution level has reduced significantly in Delhi after several projects including the Eastern Peripheral Expressway.
The estimated cost of the project is Rs 2,820 crore. The project includes construction of 3+3 lane service roads on either side of the highway, eight new underpasses, seven ramps connecting major roads, 15 major junctions, 34 minor junctions, and over-bridges at Delhi-Shahdara, New Delhi-Anand Vihar railway lines and Dilshad Garden-ISBT Metro Line.
Another highway project is the Improvement of T-Junction at Dhaula Kuan Metro Station and Defence area on Carriapa Marg on NH-8 and Improvement and Construction of flyover and underpass at IFFCO Chowk, Signature Tower and Rajiv Chowk on Delhi-Gurgaon Section of NH-8 in the State of Haryana is going on.