Girders launched at DME’s rail overbridge for six additional lanes

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has launched girders for the under-construction rail overbridge (ROB) at Chipiyana near Crossings Republik Township in Ghaziabad

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has launched girders for the under-construction rail overbridge (ROB) at Chipiyana near Crossings Republik Township in Ghaziabad. The development is significant as it will enable the construction of six more lanes of the ROB for traffic on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway (DME).

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With only four lanes of the ROB currently open, the structure is a major bottleneck for over 60,000 passenger car units (or PCU, which measures traffic taking into consideration the different vehicles that ply on a road) that use it. Once complete, the bridge will have 16 lanes in total.

“The girders over which the six lanes will be constructed were launched om Wednesday after shutting down rail movement, on the busy Delhi-Howrah route, for about one to four hours daily for over 12 days. We should be able to construct and open the six additional lanes by the end of August,” said Mudit Garg, project director, NHAI. “We plan to open two more lanes by November and the rest by the end of the year.”

The two lanes scheduled for opening in November will only be for heavy vehicles that the NHAI will employ to finish the project, another official said, asking not to be named.

The ROB is part of Phase 2 of the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, from UP Gate to Dasna, which was opened to traddic this April.

Union minister of road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday tweeted several pictures of the launching of the girders, which are 74 metres long and 66 metres wide.

The construction of the six lanes was to be finished by June but Covid-induced curfew affected work and overshot the deadline, the officials said.

Commuters were happy to see the girders go up as during peak hours, traffic slows down considerably on the ROB.

“It is a hassle to cross the ROB as the traffic barely moves an inch, especially during the evening hours. If one happens to travel between 7pm and 8pm, one is bound to take an hour to cross the ROB,” said Kamiya Arora, a resident of Crossings Republik.

The section is mainly used by short distance commuters between Ghaziabad, Greater Noida, Noida and Delhi, while also serving as a link for long distance travellers to Moradabad, Bareilly and Meerut.

“Long distance travellers to parts of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand over the weekends are also hassled by the congestion on the ROB. The DME connects Delhi to Meerut within an hour, but time almost doubles when commuters get stuck in jam on the ROB,” said Nitin Kumar, a resident of Vijay Nagar.