The completion of the Dwarka Expressway in Gurgaon is expected to be delayed again, with the new deadline set for October 15. The 18.9km portion of the expressway that falls within the city is currently under construction, with 14 subways and slip roads being built. However, the underpass at Kherki Majra and a slip road near Bajghera underpass are still pending due to land acquisition issues. NHAI officials have assured that these delays will not hinder the opening of the expressway. Residents are disappointed with the repeated delays and the confusion caused by the temporary opening and closing of the cloverleaf on CPR.
After missing several deadlines, work on the much-anticipated Dwarka Expressway is going on in full swing. According to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) officials, the 18.9km portion of the expressway that falls in the city is likely to be complete by October 15. It was earlier expected to be complete by August.
The 29km expressway starts at Delhi’s Shiv Murti and ends at Kherki Daula toll plaza in the city. Envisaged by the Haryana government in 2006, NHAI took up the project in 2016 and began construction in November 2019, with an original deadline of two years.
According to NHAI officials, work on completing 14 subways on the stretch is under way “at a war footing”, while the merger of Central Peripheral Road (CPR) and Southern Peripheral Road (SPR) to NH-8 through slip roads too will be finished by mid-October. Two slip roads will link CPR to the highway, while another will connect SPR to it.
But the underpass at Kherki Majra will take another six months as the highway authority was only recently handed over the land by HSVP. Similarly, a slip road near Bajghera underpass is unlikely to be built anytime soon as land acquisition is still pending. NHAI officials, however, said both structures won’t be impediments in the opening of the Dwarka Expressway. But no confirmation has been made about when the expressway will be opened to the public.
“Since there are a lot of utilities along the alignment of subway, including water pipelines, we have to take extra care to avoid any damage. Delay in utility shifting at a few places too caused some delays. If there is no major hindrance, we should be able to complete the work by October 15. Most of the work on subways is done, with only some portions like approaches and ramps left. Slip roads will also be built within the timeframe. We have isolated underground works like the subways and underpasses, so that the main carriageway isn’t affected. They won’t lead to any impediments in the opening of the expressway,” a senior official said.
Apart from this, landscaping work at all five roundabouts on the city section is underway. The 220kVA high-tension power line near Garhi Harsaru was shifted last week. Once the work is completed, NHAI will also get a safety audit done again on the expressway.
“A safety audit of the expressway has already been conducted. Based on its recommendations, necessary interventions have been carried out, including installation of a few more crash barriers, changing their alignment and merging slip roads with the main carriageway. Once the work is completed, another safety audit will be conducted to make the highway safe for commuting,” the NHAI official added.
An official from L&T, the contractor carrying out work on packages 3 and 4 of the expressway, said all manpower, machinery and materials have been deployed to complete the work at the earliest. “The ramp on one of the slip roads has already been merged with NH-8, while work is under way on others, which will be completed soon. But the decision to open the expressway will be taken by the NHAI,” the official added.
Meanwhile, residents of new sectors have expressed disappointment at the delays in the opening of the expressway. “We have been awaiting the opening of Dwarka Expressway for a long time. NHAI has set several deadlines but missed all of them. At present, there is a lot of confusion as the cloverleaf on CPR is sometimes opened and then closed, causing a lot of inconvenience besides posing a serious threat of accidents as traffic is moving there unregulated,” said Kshitij Bansal, a resident of Sector 102.
Source : TOI
