Residents of Delhi and Gurgaon may start using the Dwarka Expressway before Independence Day in 2022, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said Thursday after inspecting the progress of the long awaited project.
The 29-km expressway, which connects Dwarka in Delhi to Gurgaon through a shorter route, is being built at a cost of Rs 8,662 crore under the government’s Bharatmala Project. Various stretches of the project have been mired in court cases, which slowed down its progress in the past.
Gadkari said it will be the first-ever elevated urban expressway in India. Its construction will also immensely help in reducing air pollution in Delhi-NCR. A lot of real-estate development in Gurgaon and Delhi over the years has been linked to the proposed benefits of the Dwarka Expressway.
The Delhi-Gurgaon section of National Highway-8 currently carries over three lakh passenger car units (PCUs), which is much beyond the design capacity of this 8-lane highway, leading to severe congestion. With the construction of the present project, 50 to 60 per cent of traffic on National Highway-8 will be reduced, the minister added.
The project will also provide around 50,000 direct or indirect employment opportunities, Gadkari said.
Being built in four packages, the total length of the expressway is 29 km, out of which 18.9 km falls in Haryana and the remaining 10.1 km is in Delhi.
It starts from Shiv-Murti on National Highway-8 and ends near Kherki Daula Toll Plaza. “The moment the expressway is open, the toll plaza will be gone,” he said.
Calling it an “engineering marvel” of the country with the longest (3.6 km) and widest (8 lanes) urban road tunnel in India, Gadkari said it comprises four levels — tunnel/ underpass, at-grade road, elevated flyover and a flyover above flyover.
Source : Indian Express
