North Delhi’s Zakhira flyover to be shut on Tuesday night

The Public Works Department will carry out tests to check the load-bearing capacity of the two north Delhi flyovers – Peeragarhi and Zakhira near Anand Parbat

The Public Works Department (PWD) will carry out tests to check the load-bearing capacity of the two north Delhi flyovers – Peeragarhi and Zakhira near Anand Parbat – during the night on Sunday and Tuesday, due to which the traffic movement on these two bridges will be halted between 11pm and 5am, according to a traffic advisory issued by the Delhi Police.

Both flyovers are more than two decades old. PWD has already been repairing joints of the Nangloi flyover on Rohtak Road in north Delhi over the last fortnight, impacting traffic along NH-10. (Representational Image//HT Photo)

“Public Works Department of the Delhi government shall carry out the load test of Peeragarhi flyover on May 14 from 11pm to 5am and Zakhira flyover on May 16 from 11pm to 5am. The flyover will be closed for normal traffic during the period. However, the roads under these flyovers will remain open. Commuters using these routes are advised to plan their journey accordingly,” the advisory said.

Both flyovers are more than two decades old. PWD has already been repairing joints of the Nangloi flyover on Rohtak Road in north Delhi over the last fortnight, impacting traffic along NH-10.

A senior PWD official said that the load-bearing tests are carried out to check if the maximum deflection and vibration on the bridge are within permissible limits when heavy vehicles pass over them.

“Load testing is being done to assess the capacity of bridge slabs to resist deformation under heavy load. It is used to assess the condition and safety of the bridge. Both these old flyovers witness the frequent movement of heavy-loaded trucks from industrial areas located in Mundka, Nangloi, and Anand Parbat, and we are testing whether they need repair,” the official added. The Peeragarhi flyover is also witnessing snarls due to the ongoing work of Metro phase 4 under which the intersection will be linked to Janakpuri West.

A PWD official said that the junction is a major connecting point between Delhi, Haryana and NH-10 is a connecting highway for ISBT (Kashmere Gate), Bahadurgarh, and Rohtak Road, due to which there is heavy traffic movement and congestion throughout the stretch.

The stretch also witnesses high commercial traffic movement due to industrial areas and over the capacity of existing junctions, impacting surrounding residential zones. Peeragarhi intersection was identified as a congestion hot spot by a Supreme Court monitoring committee in 2020. A plan to decongest the intersection was announced by the Delhi government in August last year but the project is yet to take off.

Meanwhile, the department has not announced a deadline for the repair work on the Nangloi flyover on NH10 which started on May 1. The department has closed down half of the carriageway for the traffic moving from Peergarhi towards Bahadurgarh. “The connecting joints will be repaired by closing half of the lane at a time so it will be completed in four phases,” the official added.