A trial run of the underpass at the Mahavir Chowk intersection to connect the Old Delhi Gurugram Road and the Bus Stand Road will be held this week, officials said on Sunday, adding that a portion of the revamp project is likely to be completed in July.
Apart from the underpass, the project includes construction of service roads at the busy intersection and an elevated walkway.
Officials said the trial run for the underpass will go on for a day.
“The work on the underpass and service roads is on track to be completed in July. We are planning a day-long trial run of the underpass in the coming week to see if there are any issues so that we can rectify these and traffic movement is smooth when we finally open the structure,” a senior PWD official said on the condition of anonymity.
The PWD is executing the project on behalf of the GMDA.”The service roads are being built and these too should be ready by mid-July,” the official cited above said.
Work on the walkway, however, is expected to finish by the end of this year. “There are some electric poles of the Smart City project that are falling in the alignment of the walkway. Work is being done to remove them, but we can only start construction of the walkway after these are cleared. It will take us around four months to complete even after construction begins,” said the PWD official.
The Rs 23-crore revamp project at the intersection – critical for connectivity to Gurugram bus stand, the Civil Hospital and the Sadar Bazar – began in 2020 with an original deadline of 18 months. It has been repeatedly delayed since because of hold-ups in shifting existing infrastructure, the pandemic lockdowns and the construction bans due to air pollution.
Residents of the city, however, are sceptical. “If the walkway isn’t ready yet, how can they say that the project has been completed,” asked Nivedita Sharma, who lives in Sector 30.
Source : TOI
