Rain chips away at phase 4 of Delhi-Meerut Expressway

The soil has given way at several places along the Delhi-Meerut Expressway due to the several spells of rain over the past few days causing some damage to the road, said officials from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)

The soil has given way at several places along the Delhi-Meerut Expressway due to the several spells of rain over the past few days causing some damage to the road, said officials from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

HT Image

The troubles are especially stark on the 32km phase-4 of the expressway between Dasna and Meerut, which was built after the authority moved in tonnes of earth to elevate the section.

“I commute daily to Ghaziabad from Bhojpur and find such damage at several places on both sides of the road,” said Mahesh Sharma, a resident of Modinagar.

“It is a risk for traffic, and especially for the bigger commercial vehicles that often park on roadside. At night, they may not even see the damage. It must be immediately repaired,” said Pintu Kumar, another commuter.

NHAI officials acknowledged the problem but said the quality of construction was not in question. The expressway was opened in April this year and so this was its first monsoon test, they said.

“We faced something similar when we opened up the Eastern Peripheral Expressway. The loose soil gave way because of the rain over the last few days. Our teams are working on the problem and it will be rectified within three days,” said Mudit Garg, project director, NHAI. “We have put up blinkers and safety signs at the spots to prevent any risk to commuters.”

Since the monsoon was officially announced in the region on July 13, Ghaziabad has received an average of about 113mm rain, which is 54% below normal.

The Dasna to Meerut stretch serves around 40,000-50000 passenger car units (PCU, which is a measure of traffic that covers different vehicles and makes) per day. It also provides bypass connectivity route for fast moving long distance commuters between Delhi, Uttarakhand and other parts of Uttar Pradesh.