The Delhi government on Wednesday approved projects to revamp two key roads in the Capital — the 5km corridor between Andheria Mor and Mehrauli-Mahipalpur in south Delhi, and a 6km stretch of the Outer Ring Road between the Captain Vikram Batra flyover and Burari flyover in north Delhi, officials aware of the matter said.
Public Works Department (PWD) minister Atishi said these projects, which will cost an estimated ₹39 crore, will include a facelift of the roads, adding that the PWD is working in “mission mode” to strengthen the roads of Delhi.
“As these roads were constructed a long time ago, the quality of the roads has deteriorated in these areas which is impacting the commuters. An assessment was conducted by IIT Roorkee,” she said.
“The government is getting the assessment of roads done by experts and is preparing a blueprint to make the roads world-class. We will follow global standards of street design and ensure compliance with all safety standards during the maintenance work of roads,” she added.
A PWD official said the scope of the road rejuvenation will incorporate maintenance and upkeep of pavements, central verges and service lanes along the two stretches, as well as beautification work related to plantation on central verges and roadsides, maintenance of streetlights, and white-washing of parapet walls.
The 12-lane stretch between Capital Vikram Batra flyover and Burari flyover caters to a large traffic volume between GT Karnal Road, or Rohtak Road, and ISBT Kashmere Gate and central Delhi. The road between Andheria Mor and Mehrauli-Mahipalpur, meanwhile, passes through Vasant Kunj and caters to traffic heading towards the Indira Gandhi International airport, Gurugram, and the Qutub Minar complex.
Rajesh Panwar, who heads the federation of Vasant Kunj RWAs said, “The road between Andheria Mor and Mehrauli-Mahipalpur is a lifeline for Vasant Kunj residents, but it suffers from several problems. Besides re-laying the roads, the agencies should also focus on the decongestion of the stretch by removing encroachments and redesigning the stretch. The width of road is not sufficient near the Fortis hospital red light intersection to Masoodpur, and there are encroachments near Masoodpur and Mahipalpur.”
The Delhi government has announced a project to revamp 1,400km of roads under its annual Budget presented on March 22. The government will spend ₹2,034 crore on this ambitious plan over the next year, and the expected expenditure for the project over the next 10 years will be around ₹19,466 crore.
