Safety audit of Dwarka Expressway in Gurugram on, road likely to open by November-end

The highways authority also plans to partially open the stretch under package one and two in Delhi by February next year

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is carrying out a detailed safety audit of the 19 kilometres constructed under package three and four of the Dwarka Expressway in Gurugram, ahead of the highway’s likely opening by the end of November.

Dwarka Expressway is being constructed in four packages and, of the total 29km, 10.1km falls in Delhi. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

The highways authority also plans to partially open the stretch under package one and two in Delhi by February next year as more than 80% work on that stretch has been completed. The entire road will become operational by the end of August next year, a senior NHAI official said, asking not to be named.

Dwarka Expressway is being constructed in four packages and, of the total 29km, 18.9km fall in Haryana and the remaining 10.1km in Delhi.

The work on the project started in 2018 and is likely to be completed by August next year. The road was originally slated to be completed by 2021 but due to the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, the deadlines were extended. The ₹10,000 crore project will connect Kherki Daula on NH-48 with Shiv Murti near Mahipalpur, after passing through Gurugram and Delhi.

“Almost 99% work on Gurugram section has been completed and now a safety audit is being conducted by a firm which will give its recommendations in the next 15 days. We will take remedial measures, if required and as suggested by the agency, and thereafter plan to open the Gurugram section by end of November,” said a senior NHAI official, asking not to be named.

A proposal for installing CCTV cameras at every kilometre of the expressway has also been sent to the headquarters and is under consideration of a sister agency of the highways authority, said officials.

The NHAI officials also said civil work on the 3.6km tunnel, which is part of package one of Dwarka Expressway, has been completed and now mechanical and electrical works are being carried out. This tunnel will form the part of Urban Extension Road 2, being constructed by NHAI to connect Dwarka in Delhi with Alipur in North Delhi.

The tunnel will have eight lanes and facilitate traffic towards Delhi, Gurugram, Indira Gandhi International Airport and towards NH-8 near Shiv Murti and vice versa.

“We will be opening parts of package one and package two in Delhi by the end of February. This will give further fillip to the traffic movement and help commuters travel between Gurugram and Delhi with ease. The entire length of the Dwarka expressway from Shiv Murti to cloverleaf near Kherki Daula will become operational by August next year,” the NHAI official quoted above said.

According to the NHAI, commuters on Gurugram section of Dwarka Expressway will have five entry/exit points on the 19km stretch and there will be a single toll plaza on Delhi-Gurugram border, which is located about a kilometre from Bajghera. The expressway will have an entry/exit near Daultabad, Basai Road overbridge, Pataudi greenfield underpass, and cloverleaf, while it will have an exit at Trumpet Towers near Manesar.

Tanmoy Chatterjee, project director, L&T, the contractor for package three and four, said they have completed 99% work and are currently engaged in making finishing touches. “The road is ready to be handed over. We are now planting trees to make it a green expressway,” he said.

Package three of Dwarka Expressway starts from Bajghera and culminates near the Basai railway overbridge after passing through sectors 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 109, 110, 111, 112 and 113 in Gurugram.

Package four is 8.77 km long and starts from Basai rail overbridge and culminates at Delhi-Jaipur highway at cloverleaf near Kherki Daula. It includes the cloverleaf that will connect the expressway with Delhi-Jaipur highway and the Southern Peripheral Road.

Gurugram MP Rao Inderjit Singh on Monday said, “We are making our best effort to ensure that the inauguration of Gurugram stretch of Dwarka Expressway and foundation stone laying of Gurugram Metro is carried out simultaneously by Prime Minister Narendra Modi by the end of next month.”