Anand Vihar-Apsara Border flyover to miss deadline

The flyover is coming up on road between Anand Vihar and Apsara Border and will cater to around 148,000 vehicles daily, and bypass two traffic signals.

An upcoming flyover connecting Anand Vihar in east Delhi with Apsara Border near Ghaziabad is set to miss its December deadline and will likely be completed only by April 2024, Public Works Department (PWD) officials aware of the project said.

Delhi PWD minister Atishi inspected the upcoming flyover on the road between Anand Vihar and Apsara Border in east Delhi. (HT photo)

The 1.4km, six lane flyover is coming up on road number 56 — a key arterial road between Anand Vihar and Apsara Border — will cater to an estimated 148,000 vehicles daily, and will bypass two traffic signals, thereby cutting down travel time by approximately 12 minutes, officials said. Construction work on the project started in September last year, and the facility was expected to be completed by December 8 this year.

However, the deadline has now been pushed by four months, with officials citing heavy traffic movement along the site of the project causing hindrance to work, as well as the construction ban imposed due to the graded response action plan (Grap) in November.

PWD minister Atishi inspected the site at Anand Vihar on Wednesday to express her dissatisfaction with the delay in the project, and directed the department to double the manpower and undertake night-time operations to expedite the work.

“This delay cannot be tolerated on such an important project of making Delhi jam-free. Today I inspected the ongoing construction work here and instructed the officials to speed up the work and get the flyover ready by April 2024. PWD should improve its planning and monitoring-evaluation systems to ensure that such delays do not occur in any project. Strict action will be taken on every delay in public work,” she later posted on X.

PWD, in an official statement, said engineers overseeing the project have also been instructed to submit progress reports every week, and the concerned officers should be prepared for action against them in case of further delays.

A study commissioned by PWD in 2019revealed that 70% of traffic on road number 56 is for “non-destined” vehicles — those which are passing merely through the area — while only 30% is local.

Speaking about the project, a PWD official said the flyover is expected to ease traffic in this part of the city. “After its completion, people will be relieved from the problem of traffic jams at the red light at Ramprastha Colony, Vivek Vihar, and Shreshth Vihar. Approximately 148,000 vehicles are expected to pass through this flyover daily, providing them with significant convenience in commuting. During the construction of this flyover, various tasks such as ramps, footpaths, signage, street lights, drainage, horticulture, and others will also be undertaken.”

However, the ongoing construction work has caused chaos, with girders narrowing what is already a very busy, congested stretch. “There is always heavy traffic on this route because of the flyover construction. I never see any traffic police and we are forced to spend up to an hour along this route,” said Kapil Suryavanshi, who regularly commutes on this road.