New flyover at Delhi’s Sarai Kalai Khan ‘in a year’

PWD has opened three long pending projects in the last three months-- the Ashram underpass, Pragati Maidan integrated corridor and Benito Juarez-San Martin Marg underpass.

A new three-lane, 545-metre-long flyover at Sarai Kale Khan is expected to come up by July 14 next year, Public Works Department (PWD) officials said, and added that it will facilitate traffic from ITO towards Ashram.

Image for representation only. (Burhaan Kinu/HT PHOTO)

The officials added that the new structure will come up parallel to an existing flyover that takes vehicles from Ashram side towards Pragati Maidan and ITO.

A senior PWD official said that the project has been assigned to a private agency and the work order was issued on July 15, 2022. “Work has been recently awarded for this project and a 12-month deadline has been set for its completion. The flyover is expected to cost ₹57.7 crores,” he said.

“The scope of the project will also include improvement of adjoining road, drainage system, installation of streetlights and landscaping. We will be widening the service lanes near the [Sarai Kale Khan] inter state bus terminus,” the official added.

Currently, vehicles from ITO and Pragati Maidan have to wait at a signal on the junction of the Ring Road and the Delhi Meerut Expressway. A second PWD official said that the parallel flyover is aimed at decongesting the Sarai Kale Khan and Delhi-Meerut Expressway T-junction where the vehicle count is further likely to increase due to upcoming Rapid Railway Transit Corridor near the ISBT.

“The area already has Metro connectivity, a railway station and an ISBT. With the RRTS also coming up at Sarai Kale Khan, the traffic pressure is going to increase. It will emerge as a new congestion point unless interventions are made. Keeping in mind, the increase in vehicle count crossing this area, the planning for doubling of the existing flyover has been undertaken,” a second PWD official said.

However, the construction work on the busy stretch may add to the trouble of motorists who are already struggling with traffic jams around the Ashram Chowk as the work on the extension of the Ashram flyover up to DND Flyway is yet to be completed. Due to the ongoing construction, traffic from Sarai Kale Khan towards Ashram Chowk and from Lajpat Nagar side towards Sarai Kale Khan ISBT gets stuck on the Ring Road near Maharani Bagh.

S Velmurugan, chief scientist, Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) said that the parallel flyover is a much-needed intervention as the traffic in the area is likely to increase further once the RRTS corridor becomes operational. “The buses heading towards ISBT Sarai Kale Khan cause a choke point here. We need to also improve at-grade traffic movement.” He added that once the Ashram DND extension flyover is completed, traffic will start arriving at a faster pace. “The Barapullah 3 project should also be expedited to meet the traffic requirement of this section. That will bring a lot of transformation in terms of ease for commuters.”

PWD has opened three long pending projects in the last three months-- the Ashram underpass, Pragati Maidan integrated corridor and Benito Juarez-San Martin Marg underpass. The department’s pending projects now include Ashram flyover extension and Barapullah-phase 3 extension between Mayur Vihar and Sarai Kale Khan.