Delhi’s Ashram underpass to open from April 2, traffic advisory issued

According to the advisory issued by the Delhi traffic police on Wednesday, both carriageways of the underpass —for traffic moving from New Friends Colony to Bhogal and from Bhogal towards New Friends Colony — will be open to commuters from 8am to 10.30am and from 5pm to 8pm daily.

In a bid to complete the remaining work on the Ashram underpass in southeast Delhi, the public works department (PWD) will be enforcing restrictions on traffic movement at that facility till April 2.

Ashram underpass has been undergoing trials from March 22 and vehicular movement is already not permitted in the underpass between 10pm and 7am. (Amal KS/HT Photo)

According to the advisory issued by the Delhi traffic police on Wednesday, both carriageways of the underpass —for traffic moving from New Friends Colony to Bhogal and from Bhogal towards New Friends Colony — will be open to commuters from 8am to 10.30am and from 5pm to 8pm daily. The arrangement will remain in place till Saturday (April 2). The traffic police has advised motorists to plan their journeys accordingly.

Ashram underpass has been undergoing trials from March 22 and vehicular movement is already not permitted in the underpass between 10pm and 7am. A senior PWD official said the remaining work on the covers of the ramps and final maintenance are being carried out during the night hours. “We are carrying out all remaining work during the disruption period. The facility (underpass) is likely to be inaugurated on April 2, 2022,” the official said, asking not to be named.

The 750m underpass, which has already missed seven deadlines since work began on the project in 2019, connects Nizamuddin railway bridge and CSIR Apartments at the Ashram intersection. The busy intersection is used by more than 350,000 vehicle every day, says the traffic police.

The foundation stone for the underpass was laid by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on December 24, 2019, and it was initially expected to be completed by December 2020. Having failed to finish the project on time, the PWD had to revise the deadline several times since then.