NHAI to construct flyovers at Manesar and Bilaspur

Four major bridges, five overbridges, seven minor bridges, six grade separators and 11 bus bays are planned to be constructed between Kherki Daula and Jaipur

Two flyovers are set to come up at Manesar and Bilaspur, major dark spots on the Delhi-Jaipur highway, as part of a road infrastructure project by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to improve road safety and reduce congestion, officials said on Wednesday.

The NHAI has constructed a series of flyovers to resolve traffic issues. (HT Archive)

According to the NHAI’s project document accessed by HT, four major bridges, five overbridges, seven minor bridges, six grade separators and 11 bus bays are planned to be constructed between Kherki Daula and Jaipur. Major improvement works, including converting four-lane roads to six-lane ones, will also be done.

Officials said that tenders have been floated for the project and it is expected to take a year-and-a-half for the structures to be constructed. These will be designed for a speed of 100 kmph.

Ajay Arya, project director, NHAI said that the bids will be opened on September 14. “The two structures at Manesar and Bilaspur, besides other bridges and structures, will greatly improve commute on the entire highway. Heavy congestion is witnessed in these areas and the number of accidents has been high as several state highways and main roads converge at these spots,” said Arya.

With the primary focus on improving safety at these locations, NHAI officials said that adequate traffic control devices and road safety works will also be created. These include roadside signs, overhead signs and curb mounted signs along the identified stretches. The structures will also have a provision for W-beam crash barriers along the identified stretches at high embankment locations, officials said.

Currently, the condition of roads at several locations on this highway is not ideal with proper maintenance works lacking, regular commuters on the roads connecting Gurugram, Rewari and Narnaul said.

Vishal Bansal, a resident of Narnaul, who frequently travels on the highway, said that the new bridges on Gurugram and Rajasthan side will reduce commute time and also check accidents. “We get stuck at Bilaspur and Manesar regularly. Another bad spot is Dharuhera and NHAI should do something about that also,” he said.

Due to heavy congestion and a high number of accidents, residents of Manesar, Bilaspur and Rewari have been demanding flyover on both these stretches.

Union minister and Gurugram Lok Sabha member, Rao Inderjit Singh, said that he had taken up the matter of flyovers at Bilaspur and Manesar repeatedly with union transport minister Nitin Gadkari, who approved these projects a few weeks ago. “Traffic congestion on the entire highway is high and there are frequent traffic jams. The NHAI has finally floated the tenders and I hope the work will be completed at a fast pace. The accidents happening on this stretch will also reduce,” said Singh.