RRTS: Shifting of utilities, traffic diversion on Old Delhi road likely from next week

Gurugram: The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) has asked the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) and other stakeholders to prepare details

Gurugram: The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) has asked the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) and other stakeholders to prepare details of their respective under/over ground utilities on Old Delhi road by next week with timelines of their shifting in the backdrop of pre-construction survey currently underway by the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) for the regional rapid transit system (RRTS) project.

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Under the RRTS, Old Delhi road’s median verge will be used by the NCRTC for construction of pillars for its elevated rail corridor project between Delhi’s Sarai Kale Khan and Bawal in Haryana.

VS Kundu, GMDA chief executive officer, asked the officials on Wednesday to submit their plan by next week so that traffic diversion plan can be chalked out accordingly by the traffic police.

“I have told all stakeholders to make a utility shifting plan with timelines, so that we can chalk out traffic diversion plan of the road. If we divert traffic on both carriageways, we will have to make alternative routes in cooperation with the traffic police. The NCRTC, which is executing the RRTS, is doing its pre-construction survey currently. We have to keep in mind that the RRTS construction work does not suffer due to existing utilities as well as traffic movement should also go unhindered,” said Kundu, who chaired a meeting in this regard on Wednesday.

The GMDA chief further said that he will review the action taken report next week.

Besides traffic police and DHBVN officials, officials from the Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran, department of town and country planning, and Municipal Corporation of Gurugram, among others, were also present in the meeting.

“Pre-construction works, such as pile load testing, geotechnical investigation and mapping of underground utilities, are in progress currently on Old Delhi road,” said a spokesperson of NCRTC, which is executing the three RRTS projects in the NCR.

Two weeks ago, an RRTS survey team had met GMDA officials and sought details of utilities on Old Delhi road and timeline of their shifting .

The road that starts from Delhi-Gurugram border at Kapashera and terminates at city’s main bus stand near Mahavir Chowk is known as Old Delhi road, which was built over four decades ago. The road connects Gurugram with Palam Airport and touches the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway at Mahipalpur.

A segment of roughly 5km of Old Delhi road — between Hanuman Chowk and Atul Kataria Chowk — has to be used for RRTS corridor and the GMDA has to make it encumbrance free before the start of constructions for the rail corridor that is likely by end of the year.

The rail corridor will use median verge of the segment of Old Delhi road – water and sewer pipelines, underground electricity feeders and overhead wires and other utilities of government and non-government agencies essentially required to be shifted before June, the officials said.

Besides traffic, the GMDA will have to keep in mind how it can provide safe crossings to cyclists and pedestrians working in factories at Udyog Vihar located on Old Delhi road.

“We are working in this regard. We will make safe crossing facilities at two to three places between Kapashera border and Atul Kataria Chowk,” said a GMDA engineer, wishing anonymity.

The Delhi-Gurugram-Alwar project — one of the three RRTS corridors — is to be implemented in three phases.

Vinita Singh, GMDA Smart Grid chief engineer, said, “We will submit shifting plan next week.”