Gurugram: A key underpass beneath the Dwarka Expressway which connects Basai road overbridge with Sectors 102 and 102A was opened for traffic on a trial basis on Tuesday morning. Two lanes of the four-lane underpass were thrown open for traffic and the opposite side will be accessible from Wednesday, a National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) project contractor said.
Earlier on Monday, the underpass was tested by technical vehicles of the NHAI, he added.
Santosh Shukla, project manager, L&T said that work on the underpass has been completed, and they have opened one side of the underpass for a traffic trial to check the safety of the structure and the movement of vehicles. “The opposite two lanes will be opened for trial on Wednesday. The underpass will give direct access to residents of the area who want to take the Dwarka expressway and NH 48 to commute. The slip roads have also been constructed and these will ensure people have access to all sides. We will run the trial for the next few days to check how the underpass is functioning,” he said.
The underpass has been constructed at a cost of ₹24 crore and it is 548 metres in length.
{{/usCountry}}The underpass has been constructed at a cost of ₹24 crore and it is 548 metres in length.
{{/usCountry}}NHAI officials said that the opening of the underpass will ensure smooth movement of traffic from the Hero Honda Chowk to residential sectors on the opposite side since it has now enabled connectivity between Hero Honda Chowk and both sides of the Dwarka expressway with six sectors on the western side in particular getting easy access which include sectors 102, 102A, 103, 106, Kherki Majra, Basai, Dhankot and other adjoining areas.
A senior project official said that the underpass got a bit delayed as a land acquisition issue had cropped up and the transfer of land on the western side of the structure remained pending for almost 2 years. “It was only recently that the land was transferred to the contractor and now we have completed the structure. Construction at this location was also a bit difficult as a master water pipeline had to be shifted and the ground water level is also high, which needed constant dewatering,” he said.
In future, the underpass will also connect to a proposed road from Sectors 102-102A to AIIMS in Bhadsa village in Jhajjar allowing residents of Gurugram to reach the hospital in Jhajjar and beyond using this road. The road will be constructed by the PWD department and it will pass through Mankdola, Budhera, Dhankot and Kherki Majra villages of Gurugram. The process of land acquisition has already been initiated, said a senior GMDA official.
Residents of the area, meanwhile, said that the opening of the underpass and slip roads along it will help thousands of people living in sectors along this road significantly. “We had to use revenue roads to access the Dwarka Expressway and there was no direct connection with NH 48. But people can now use both these expressways with ease. School children will also greatly benefit as their buses won’t need to take long detours,” said Sunil Sareen, former president, Imperial Garden RWA in Sector 102.
Last year in April, then Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar had inaugurated the Basai road overbridge but the highway authority had to construct service roads on both sides of the underpass to facilitate movement of traffic on the Dwarka Expressway at the surface level as the underpass remained incomplete due to litigation over land. It was only after the state government intervened in the matter that land was handed over to NHAI for construction.