Underpass project at Delhi’s Bhairon Marg set to miss its deadline

The underpass No 5 is part of the Pragati Maidan integrated transit corridor, and was first meant to have opened in December 2022

Delhi’s unprecedented July floods led to a pile-up of silt and shifted heavy structures at the underpass being built along the Bhairon Marg, which will now be delayed well beyond this year, officials said on Monday.

Delhi Police put up barricades at Ring Road near Bhairon Marg ahead of G-20 India Summit, in New Delhi. (Photo by Sanjeev Verma/ Hindustan Times)

The underpass No 5 is part of the Pragati Maidan integrated transit corridor, and was first meant to have opened in December 2022. The complicated nature of the work — the underpass runs through a section with an active railway overbridge — meant it was delayed and a new deadline set for before the G20 Summit this month.

But work has been halted since July, when the Yamuna swelled to a record 208.33m, inundating large parts of the Capital.

At the heart of the problem is the technique used to make the underpass. The Public Works Department (PWD) uses what is known as box-push technique. As the name suggests, fabricated boxes that are open on either ends are pushed in, creating the solid form of the tunnel. These boxes are pushed in through embankments of rail or road by jacking system.

PWD has now written to the Indian Railways seeking help in removing the deposits and getting the boxes in place. Officials added that work can only resume after monsoon when the area is completely dry.

“We have written to Indian Railways asking if they have any technology that we can use to clear the uneven settlements and start pushing the boxes. No work can be done for now till the rain completely stops. So, anything can be done only after around another 20 days,” said another PWD official, who did not wish to be named.

Indian Railways officials did not respond to HT’s requests for comments on the development.

The integrated corridor was constructed to provide seamless connectivity to the Pragati Maidan complex as well as decongesting surrounding arterial roads such as Ring Road, Mathura Road and Bhairon Marg.

Officials said that the total length of underpass number 5 — also referred to as the Bhairon Marg-Ring Road underpass — is 110m, with work remaining on a 28m-long section.

The underpass was expected to be completed by December last year but could not be due to various issues. Since the underpass is close to the banks of the Yamuna, the area is susceptible to inundation due to water from the river, officials said. Moreover, officials said the presence of three active railway lines above the site of the underpass hindered construction.

Eventually, the 1.3-km-long main Pragati Maidan tunnel, along with five other underpasses, was inaugurated for the public in June 2022. Underpass 5 was then expected to be completed by the end of 2022 but then was delayed again due to flooding. Officials say that the underpass is unlikely to be completed this year.