NHAI starts sinkhole repairs at Gurugram's Iffco Chwk, opening date unclear

NHAI said bitumen laying could finish in two days if rain holds, but the stretch will reopen only after inspection of the repaired subsurface.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has started restoring the road at Iffco Chowk, where a sinkhole developed on August 25, with officials saying the bitumen work is expected to be completed in two days if there is no further rain. However, the date for reopening the damaged stretch remains uncertain and will depend on further inspection and a review of the repair work, officials said.

The sinkhole formed after a sewage drain collapsed on August 25, forcing barricading of two service lanes and disrupting traffic at Iffco Chowk. (PARVEEN KUMAR/HINDUSTAN TIMES)

Road being rebuilt in layers to strengthen subsurface

Highway officials said repair work began on Saturday, and the damaged portion is being filled in layers with soil and substrate material, with each layer being allowed time to settle before the next stage. The entire material is being rolled over to strengthen the subsurface.

“The repair of the road has started, and the work is being carried out in layers with soil and substrate material being filled up in the sinkhole, which is given time to settle. The entire material is being rolled over to strengthen the subsurface. It will take two more days to lay the bitumen over the damaged road, provided it does not rain again,” said an NHAI official.

Rain delays restoration work at sinkhole

Officials said the road repair had been delayed by intermittent rainfall in the city over the past two weeks. Regular spells of rain repeatedly filled the sinkhole, forcing workers to dewater the area and wait for the soil to stabilise before proceeding with the restoration.

“We want to property treat the surface so that there is no repeat of the incident,” NHAI officials said.

The officials, however, did not give a definite date for reopening the stretch, saying the timeline would depend on further inspection and a review of the repair work after the subsurface treatment and filling are completed.

Sewage drain collapse triggered major sinkhole

A portion of a sewage drain collapsed on August 25 on the Iffco Chowk service lane from the Delhi to Jaipur side, creating a large sinkhole and causing panic among commuters besides triggering congestion on the road. Two service lanes of the highway were barricaded following the incident.

The collapse was caused by a sewage line flowing under the road from MG Road towards Rajiv Chowk on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, officials said.

Heavy sewage flow slowed pipeline replacement

The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) had also taken nearly one and a half weeks to repair the damaged pipeline at the Iffco Chowk sinkhole, as the heavy sewage flow into the drain slowed down the replacement work.

“We have replaced the damaged pipe at the sinkhole and also repaired the pipeline adjoining the damaged area. The authority has also started an exercise to identify all the sewer pipelines which are in damaged condition, and these will also be repaired,” said a GMDA official.

The official added that the entire pipeline from Iffco Chowk to Sikanderpur, which is in bad shape, will be repaired using machine-wound spiral lining technology.