A 2.42-km-long elevated corridor, underpasses, and a .44-km-long ramp are among the projects under consideration as the Public Works Department (PWD) eyes decongestion on the Mehrauli-Badarpur (MB) Road and key South Delhi areas.
Heavy traffic movement in areas such as Saket, Kalkaji, Mehrauli, Badarpur, Tughlakabad, and Pushp Vihar is in focus, said officials, adding that proposals will be sent to the Delhi government for the Cabinet’s nod, and financial sanction soon.
A meeting was held recently to discuss the projects, cost, and execution. The PWD has set a target to seek approvals and expenditure sanction from the government by December.
A senior official said that there is a plan to construct a 2.42-km-long elevated corridor (or flyover) and an underpass from the Asian Market near Pushp Vihar to Batra Hospital.
“Saket, especially the area around the Select City Mall, sees chock–a–block movement in peak hours — both pedestrian and vehicular. Here, the roads are also narrow, and both sides of the roads have shops. This further aggravates the situation. The areas are also near the Mehrauli-Badarpur Road, which connects Gurgaon as well as upscale areas like Chhatarpur, Saket, Pushp Vihar, and Vasant Kunj…,” said a senior PWD official. An overhaul plan is in the works to improve the connectivity, the official added.
The PWD also plans to develop an underpass at the upcoming Saket-G Block Metro Station, which is currently under construction as part of Delhi Metro’s Phase IV project.
To further ease the congestion in other key South Delhi areas, PWD also has plans to develop a 2.4-km-long elevated stretch at Maa Anandmayee Marg-Tughlakabad railway crossing. Officials said they are also planning to construct a 0.44-km-long ramp at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg and the MB Road.
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“MB road is congested heavily, and it sees traffic jams throughout the day. Now, with the new metro corridor being developed here, the government has plans to upgrade road infrastructure for the vehicle users…These projects are expected to improve traffic on the MB road at intersections and other parts of South Delhi like Kalkaji, Govindpuri, Okhla, Tughlakabad…,” said an official.
Officials also said that these projects are likely to be executed jointly by PWD and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).
“A memorandum of understanding was also signed between the two agencies in 2021…The projects are now back on the drawing board, and meetings have also been held to take them to the next stage. The DMRC submitted modified estimates in April. The projects will soon be processed in a time-bound manner for the Cabinet approval…,” said an official, adding that a timeline is being drawn up.
