Gurgaon: NHAI succumbs to pressure, changes design of U-turn near Ambience Mall
Changes in the design were introduced after submissions made by Ambience Group
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has made a major change in the design of the underground U-turn proposed on the National Highway at Sirhaul near Ambience Mall.
It is learnt that the changes were made submissions by the Ambience Group. The NHAI has now moved the ramp of the underground U-turn 80 metres towards Rajokri flyover.
The changes have been done in the drawing of the underground U-turn and copies of the same have been submitted to the two major stakeholders — the Ambience Group and the DLF — as both are to share 50% of the construction cost.
Traffic volume has increased manifold on the National Highway-8 (Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway), between Delhi and Gurgaon, in the past decades and the absence of safe and easy mode to cross the highway near Ambience Mall had emerged as a major challenge for commuters.
Commuters trying to reach Ambience Mall from the opposite side were forced to travel an additional 2km towards Delhi and take a U-turn under Rajokri flyover.
After several meetings between the NHAI and the officials of the Haryana government, it was decided that an underground U-turn near Ambeince Mall would be the best way to address the issue.
Ashok Kumar Sharma, project director (PD), NHAI Gurgaon, said the ramp would emerge some 250 metres behind the Ambience Mall entry.
“In the earlier design, the Ramp was emerging some 150 metres behind the Ambience Mall entry but that was not convenient to the stakeholder. Since their technical reasons were valid, we decided to shift the ramp an additional 80 metres towards Rajokri flyover. The change is fine with the stakeholder. I hope the work on the underground U-turn can start soon,” Sharma said.
Raj Singh Gahlot, chairman of Ambience Group, said, “The change was essential for keeping long-distance traffic separate from short-distance traffic and we believe that it will help streamline traffic movement.”
Read I Gurgaon: Elevated U-turn on Delhi-Gurgaon expressway near Ambience Mall soon
Gahlot said, “In the earlier design, the ramp and the service lane were converging in front of the mall and it was sure to cause a traffic chaos. Now, the two streams of traffic will be separate. Many commuters wanting to go to Manesar from Udyog Vihar, for instance, taking the carriageway would be better than the service lane. That is what we wanted.”
The NHAI said the detailed project report is ready and the construction can start anytime after the local authority gives its nod.
Proposal of an underground U-turn crossover facility for residents living in areas west to the expressway to reach out Ambience Mall, Leela hotel, DLF and other areas near the now defunct Sirhaul toll plaza was part of the original plan of the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway.
“Now we hope that this plan will be implemented soon,” said SN Yadav, a resident of Sector 21.