Delhi: 8 deadlines later, Benito Juarez Road underpass may soon see light of day

A Public Works Department (PWD) official associated with the project said now that all construction-related work is over, workers are providing finishing touches--welding, painting and electric connections --to the underpass, which will take one more week.

After missing eight deadlines, the underpass under the ring road near Delhi University’s South Campus connecting Benito Juarez Marg to San Martin Marg is finally nearing completion, officials said on Friday.

The underpass under the ring road near Delhi University’s South Campus connecting Benito Juarez Marg to San Martin Marg is finally nearing completion.  (HT file photo. Representative image)

A Public Works Department (PWD) official associated with the project said now that all construction-related work is over, workers are providing finishing touches--welding, painting and electric connections --to the underpass, which will take one more week.

“We have sent a communique to the Delhi government to fix an inauguration date soon,” another PWD official said.

The 1.2km-long Y-shaped underpass is the second of the two-part Rao Tula Ram project, which the Delhi government approves in 2013. The first part, Rao Tula Ram flyover, was inaugurated in July 2019 after several delays.

A 670 metre-long skywalk connecting the two arms of the San Martin Marg and Benito Juarez Marg has also been developed as a part of this project. “With the underpass ramps occupying a significant portion of the right of way, the skywalk was conceived as part of this project to facilitate pedestrian movement,” the PWD official quoted above said.

The underpass from Benito Juarez Marg to San Martin Marg aims to facilitate smooth movement for vehicles travelling from Gurugram, Mahipalpur, Dwarka or Indira Gandhi International Airport towards the city, taking the load off Ring Road. According to officials, instead of crossing Dhaula Kuan, people will be able to take a right from Subroto Park, drive on Rao Tula Ram Road and take this new underpass to reach Moti Bagh.

Dr S Velmurugan, chief scientist, Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), said that the underpass will reduce the load on the major arterial corridors leading towards central Delhi. “The amount of traffic beyond the Munirka area will reduce and it will impact several other arterial roads. While it will improve connectivity in the area, PWD needs to ensure that it develops more pedestrian facilities and better road crossings as it will certainly lead to fast-moving traffic,” he added.

On Friday, workers were busy welding and painting the underpass, installing cover sheds on the metallic skywalk frame and finishing work on a drain to prevent water logging. ​

According to a PWD official, the main hurdle the project had faced was the shifting of utilities on the 11m portion of Ring Road abutting Satya Niketan.

“The work was repeatedly suspended due to pollution and pandemic-related construction bans and financial problems. At one point, the Delhi Traffic police denied us permission to dig under the Ring Road before the completion of the RTR flyover so that both the arterial roads would not be impacted simultaneously. Work on the underpass only gathered steam after the RTR flyover was completed,” he added.

After the Cabinet nod in 2013, construction work on the project began in November 2015, and remained stuck for over 2.5 years due to the delay in shifting several high-tension wires that power a railways traction substation in the area. Between 2015 and 2018, the executing agency was only able to complete 35% of the work on the underpass project. The original project cost was estimated at ₹102.4 crore, but the delay, cost of shifting utilities and tree-cutting inflated it to ₹143.8 crore, officials said.