Now, work on Delhi Ring Road to end earlier to curb dust

PWD is cutting work hours to sweep dust on Outer Ring Road repairs, risking delays. Residents face bumpy commutes or dust pollution amid ongoing construction.

The Public Works Department (PWD), which is re-carpeting and strengthening the Outer Ring Road stretch from Chirag Delhi to the Modi Mills flyover, has decided to set aside two hours just for mechanical sweeping at the work site after local residents complained of dust pollution in the area.

Vehicles moving through dust on Savitri flyover. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

PWD officials said that the work on the 3.5km stretch, which is being carried out from post midnight to 6am so that traffic on the arterial road is not affected, will now end at around 4 am instead. They also warned that the reduction in working hours may delay the project by 15-20 days, and if rising pollution levels lead to the imposition of Graded Response Action Plan (Grap) restrictions, the work may be delayed further.

However, residents of the surrounding areas such as Panchsheel Park, Vasant Kunj, Malviya Nagar, Hauz Khas, Green Park, Greater Kailashsaid that now, they are stuck between a rock and a hard place — they are left to choose between a bumpy, uncomfortable commute, or having to deal with dust storms from the leftover road debris.

Repairs on roads are usually carried out using the cold milling technique — the existing bituminous layer is scraped off, and the surface is re-laid with a new layer of glowing studs. This work usually takes place at night and does not require road closures. However, the scraped surface and construction material kept aside often reduces the speed of vehicular movement and adds to dust in the area.

“We started by scraping off the top layer of the road and laying a new layer to repair the stretch that had developed potholes during the rains. The work is being done overnight, and we stop around 6am as regular traffic starts. Since the Outer Ring Road is a busy road, we were not getting enough time to mechanically sweep and remove the dust. We are now going to stop work around two hours early so that there is time to sweep away the dust,” a PWD official said, on condition of anonymity.

“The work was expected to take about two months. Grap restrictions are usually imposed from October, depending on the pollution levels. If the air quality worsens, we may have to pause work or go slower than usual. This will only increase the duration of repair work,” the official said.

Residents said a better solution may have been to repair smaller stretches of road at a time.

“We have complained about the situation to PWD as well as the traffic police. It is easy for officials to say that the construction will be delayed, but it is residents and commuters who will suffer. The situation near Savitri Cinema is so bad that there is almost no visibility (due to dust). They should be scraping off smaller stretches at a time and take sufficient precautionary steps such as using water sprinklers and mist guns,” said Chetan Sharma, chairman of the Federation of GK-II complex RWAs.

Meanwhile, chief scientist and head of traffic engineering and safety division of Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), S Velmurugan highlighted that any road repair projects, especially in a busy road will entail traffic disruptions.

”Dust and pollution in this season only make it a double jeopardy, but these issues can be anticipated and planned for easily, which the departments fail to do. First, the timing should be planned. The work could have started about 10 days earlier or a couple of months later when pollution issues were reduced. Also, there should always be a diversion plan ready, even if it is not needed. In coordination with traffic police alternative routes should be identified and people should be told about these so that they are aware of their options,” S Velumurugan said.