Facing delays, timelines revised for 3 phases of Delhi-Meerut expressway

The expressway project has three pending phases – UP-Gate to Dasna under phase 2, Dasna to Hapur under phase 3 and Dasna to Meerut under phase IV.

The wait for a smooth and fast ride from Delhi to Meerut via the 14-lane Delhi-Meerut Expressway (DME) has just got a little longer. Three under-construction phases of the DME project have been further delayed by two to five months due to logistical and other issues, officials said on Saturday.

Delhi-Meerut Expressway towards Sarai Kale Khan and ITO . (HT PHOTO)

During a review meeting of the DME project held at the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GHA) headquarters on Saturday, the divisional commissioner said revised timelines had been given to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and officials had been asked to fast-track work.

The expressway project has three pending phases – UP-Gate to Dasna under phase 2, Dasna to Hapur under phase 3 and Dasna to Meerut under phase IV. Phase 1 from Sarai Kale Khan-Ring Road in Delhi to UP Gate is already operational.

The officials said construction is going on in all three pending phases and the new timelines indicate that phase 3 is likely to open by August 31 against its earlier timeline of June end while phase 4, which was scheduled for October 2019 opening, will now be completed by the end of December this year.

The UP Gate to Vijay Nagar stretch, spanning about 19.2km, is of prime importance to commuters from Ghaziabad and Noida to travel further to Delhi.

“Phase 2 is about 57% complete and we are targeting end of December for its completion. But the completion will be without the rail over bridge (ROB) lanes near Crossings Republik. The ROB, having three parts, will be complete by May 2020. This is due to the busy Ghaziabad-Howrah railway section through which hundreds of trains pass every day. The ROB construction will need substantial shutdown of rail traffic and clearance from the railways,” said RP Singh, project director (NHAI).

“Distribution and transmission electricity lines would also needed to be shut down to expedite work. Long shutdown of electricity was not possible due to the peak summer season,” he, added.

The officials said they had earlier intended to open the UP-Gate to Vijay Nagar stretch of phase 2 by the end of May but work related to two over-bridges caused delays.

“The stretch from UP-Gate to Vijay Nagar is about 10km under phase 2. This will now be completed by the end of October due to a delay in the construction of an over-bridge over the Hindon canal and a part of the over-bridge at the Hindon river,” Singh added.

The divisional commissioner directed NHAI officials to construct drains near residential neighbourhoods whose levels have further gone down due to the construction of DME phase 2.

Hindustan Times had reported how residents had raised the issue of non-functional and water-filled underpasses and feared that their colonies could face water logging issues as a result.

“The drainage plan has been submitted by the municipal corporation and the Ghaziabad Development Authority. NHAI will take up construction of 8.5km drainage network near the localities. The project will be funded by NHAI,” Meshram said.