Waterproofing work may keep final Pragati Maidan tunnel from opening till September: PWD

The department said that water-proofing measures have to be undertaken at the underpass given its proximity to the Yamuna and its vulnerability to inundation.

New Delhi: The sixth and final underpass of the Pragati Maidan integrated corridor project is likely to be ready only by end-September, the public works department (PWD) has said, adding that water-proofing measures have to be undertaken at the underpass given its proximity to the Yamuna and its vulnerability to inundation.

The Pragati Maidan tunnel was shut on Sunday.(PTI)

Under the integrated corridor project, the construction work of which started in 2017, a 1.2km long tunnel connecting Mathura Road to Outer Ring Road and six underpasses were envisaged.

While the rest of the underpasses as well as the main tunnel were inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 19, the sixth and final underpass, on Bhairon Marg-Ring Road junction (officially it is designated as underpass number 5), is yet to be completed owing to frequent inundation of the area on account of its proximity to the Yamuna, the PWD, the agency executing the project said.

At the time of the inauguration of the project in June, the ITPO, the agency overseeing the project, said the underpass will be opened to traffic in “four to six weeks”. A senior PWD official said the department has completely redesigned the water network at underpass number 5 to prevent waterlogging. “We hired a consultant to find a permanent solution to the problem. The locations of all the pump houses in its vicinity have been modified to increase the efficiency and reduce the water level. The site is vulnerable as it is hardly 100m from the Yamuna banks and groundwater levels are also very high there,” the official said, asking not to be named.

Dr S Velmurugan chief scientist, Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), said this underpass is a “lifeline” in comparison to other five and, once complete, it will provide signal-free access between the two ISBTs.

“Around 35% of at grade traffic will be reduced. This is the only point where vehicles have to spend time idling. Beyond this point the commuters can take the flyover near ITO and then the Ring Road bypass for signal free access up to Kashmere Gate ISBT. So this one structure will decongest a 7-8km stretch of the bypass,” he said. The PWD said the Bhairon Marg site had to be repeatedly dewatered as a water table rise was observed there every year.

“After each such episode, we had to stop work and use pumps to dewater the site. This, combined with a small window of construction, of 1-1.5 hours every night, owing to the active railway tracks above the underpass, led to the delay,” the official quoted above said.