Delhi flyovers set for inconvenient repairs over separate phases

The five flyovers scheduled for repairs are at Sarita Vihar, Andrews Ganj, Gokulpuri (in June), and in Tilak Nagar and Punjabi Bagh (may begin in July)

The state Public Works Department (PWD) has planned to repair five flyovers across Delhi over the next two months, officials said on Thursday, stressing that the work schedule has been planned to minimise chaos on multiple stretches simultaneously.

Sarita Vihar flyover near Apollo Hospital in New Delhi on Thursday. The repairs at the Sarita Vihar flyover will take around 50 days. PWD initially announced that work would start on June 7, but deferred the project. The repair work may now start next week. (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)

Read here: Delhi’s Sarita Vihar flyover repair work postponed; No traffic snarls for now

The five flyovers scheduled for repairs are at Sarita Vihar, Andrews Ganj and Gokulpuri (all likely to begin in June), and in Tilak Nagar and Punjabi Bagh (may begin in July), the officials said.

The repairs will be carried out in phases, and each project will last for varying spans. For example, the repairs at the Sarita Vihar flyover will take around 50 days, but at Tilak Nagar will take only 15 days, they added.

PWD officials stressed that traffic will be minimised and vehicles will be diverted only if required. To be sure, any disruption or roadwork in Delhi is bound to lead to disruptions -- as evidenced by the months-long snarls at Ashram during expansion work, and at Chirag Delhi while the flyover was being repaired.

PWD is set to first start repair work on the Sarita Vihar flyover. The department initially announced that work would start on June 7, but deferred the project. The repair work may now start next week.

The partial closure of this flyover may affect residents of Badarpur, Jaitpur, Kalindi Kunj, and New Friends Colony, along with commuters travelling from Delhi to Faridabad and Noida.

A senior PWD official who asked not to be named said, “We have completed all our arrangements and acquired materials for the repair of Gokulpuri flyover and are only awaiting traffic permissions. Once we get the traffic police permission, we will start work in June itself. Planning is complete for the Andrews Ganj flyover too and a contractor has been allotted work.”

Repairs of the Gokulpuri flyover, situated along Loni Road, is likely to affect traffic between Delhi and Ghaziabad. Meanwhile, the Andrews Ganj flyover is situated on the busy Ring Road, and is a crucial stretch between Moolchand, Lajpat Nagar and South Extension.

Meanwhile, the two projects likely to begin in July will only involve changing the bearings of the flyover, and officials said that there will be no need for diversions. “This work is done under the flyover and may not affect traffic on the carriageway. However, due to ongoing work around the Punjabi Bagh flyover, traffic under the flyover may be hit,” the PWD official quoted above said.

Read here: Pain for 50 days: Delhi’s Sarita Vihar flyover to be shut for repairs

S Velmurugan, chief scientist and head, traffic engineering and safety division, Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), said PWD should undertake repair work in a phased manner to not stress traffic in the city. “There should be adequate publicity and diversions should be announced in advance so that people can plan alternative routes. The officials can create Google alerts and use FM radio for this,” he said.