Ghaziabad moots linking of two major city roads to national highways

Both these roads, which come under the GDA, run on outskirts of the Ghaziabad city. However, traffic from these roads leads to heavy snarls on Delhi-Meerut Road and Raj Nagar Extension, the GDA said

In an effort to divert heavy traffic away from the city, the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) proposed the linking of two major city roads to the under-construction Delhi-Dehradun national highway (NH-709B) and the operational Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE), authority officials in the know of the matter have said.

The Eastern Peripheral Expressway, maintained by the NHAI, is about 135km long and serves as an outer road for vehicles to bypass Delhi. It has two major interchanges, at Duhai and Dasna in Ghaziabad.  (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

They said the proposal was sent to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) chairman Santosh Kumar Yadav, who has previously served as the Ghaziabad district magistrate and the vice-chairperson of the GDA at different times. Officials said they mooted the connecting of the under construction Northern Peripheral Road to the national highway and the Outer Ring Road to the EPE.

“We sent the proposal two days ago to the chairman and have requested the joining of two of our major roads to NH-709B and the EPE. The proposal will help us divert about 20,000 vehicles to these highways/expressways and this will help improve the prevailing traffic situation on major roads such as the Delhi Meerut Road,” said Rakesh Kumar Gupta, chief engineer of GDA.

He said GDA’s under-construction Northern Peripheral Road, which is about 20km long and stretches from NH-9 to Loni, is proposed to be connected to NH-709B in Loni, while the 10km Outer Ring Road, from Karhera rotary to the proposed international cricket stadium near Morti, will be connected to the EPE.

Both these roads run on the outskirts of the Ghaziabad city. However, traffic from these roads leads to heavy snarls on Delhi-Meerut Road and Raj Nagar Extension, the GDA said.

GDA officials said that a detailed survey and cost estimation has been requested from NHAI regarding the proposal and the cost of the linking will be borne by NHAI.

“We have proposed that the connecting points of these roads to the highway/expressway should be tolled. That way, the revenue collected will help NHAI recover the cost of executing these connections. Once the NHAI provides access, we will be able to unclog the city and about 15,000-20,000 vehicles a day will bypass the city and move on to their respective destinations,” Gupta said.

The EPE, maintained by the NHAI, is about 135km long and serves as an outer road for vehicles to bypass Delhi. It has two major interchanges, at Duhai and Dasna in Ghaziabad.

The NH-709B is presently under construction. This 180km highway is proposed to connect Delhi to Dehradun and will pass through Ghaziabad’s Loni.

“The linking will be beneficial for the long distance travellers who otherwise have to travel through Ghaziabad to move to areas like Haridwar, Dehradun etc,” said Ramanand Kushwaha, ACP (traffic).

NHAI’s project director Arvind Kumar did not respond to calls for his response over the proposal.

“A detailed survey should be carried out to find out the feasibility and impact on environment when thousands of vehicles take the proposed bypass routes. The proposal by GDA is welcome step and it should be considered,” said Colonel TP Tyagi, engineer retired from Indian Army’s corps of engineers.