NE Delhi double-decker flyover set to miss July deadline

The viaduct for the metro corridor has been completed by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), but the ramps on both sides connecting the road with the flyover are yet to be constructed due to lack of tree-felling permission

The upcoming double-decker flyover between Bhajanpura and Yamuna Vihar in northeast Delhi on the Maujpur to Majlis Park metro corridor is set to miss the July deadline as the work has been on hold due to a pending tree-felling permission from theforest department, officials said.

Around 70% of the civil construction work has been completed. (Representative picture)

The viaduct for the metro corridor has been completed by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), but the ramps on both sides connecting the road with the flyover are yet to be constructed due to the trees in the way. Around 70% of the civil construction work has been completed, an official said.

“The viaduct for movement of metro trains has already been constructed for the entire corridor and the section is expected to be opened for passenger services within this year. The lower deck (PWD flyover) of double decker on the Majlis Park - Maujpur corridor of Delhi Metro’s Phase-4 is almost ready. However, the ramp needed for road connectivity to the flyover has not yet been constructed due to the unavailability of tree cutting permissions,” said Anuj Dayal, principal executive director, DMRC.

The flyover is Delhi’s first double-decker viaduct, with a metro line on the upper deck and a four-lane road flyover on the lower deck that will be handed over to the Public Works Department (PWD) after completion of the upper deck. The PWD flyover will have four lanes, two on each side of the carriageway.

The stretch between Bhajanpura and Yamuna Vihar is about 1.4 kilometre long and was initially planned to be completed by the end of this month. It is part of the 12.32km-long corridor, which will be an extension of the Pink Line of Delhi Metro.

With work on hold for the past few months, PWD minister Parvesh Verma recently reviewed the construction update and asked the department to expedite necessary permissions. “The project will ease congestion in the area and will reduce traffic with a flyover as well as better public transport because of the metro. I have reviewed the current progress and we are trying to expedite the process of getting approvals for the tree felling and transplantation,” Verma said on Friday.

This is the first of the three double-decker viaducts being constructed as part of Delhi Metro’s Phase 4, which was announced in 2021. Among the three double-decker viaducts, the 2.4km-long facility between Sangam Vihar and Ambedkar Nagar stations on the Aerocity-Tughlaqabad corridor will be the longest. The other viaduct between Azadpur and Rani Jhansi Road intersection on the RK Ashram Marg-Janakpuri west corridor will be about 2.2km long. The completion deadline for the other two flyovers is next year.