Delhi PWD fast-tracks project to ‘redesign’ 9 road stretches

Delhi’s Public Works Department (PWD) has fast-tracked its ambitious project to redesign nine major roads in the city.

Delhi’s Public Works Department (PWD) has fast-tracked its ambitious project to redesign nine major roads in the city. Officials said they want to decongest these stretches and make them friendly for pedestrians and physically-challenged people.

PWD worker cleaning Ring road with mechanized vacuum sweepers near Mayur vihar, in East Delhi, India on Friday Night, April 01, 2016. (HT File Photo)

Files on six out of the nine identified stretches had been sent to the Delhi government’s finance department for estimate approval, officials familiar with the development said.

The project for redesigning of roads, which aimed at allowing smoother movement, both for vehicles and for pedestrians and cyclists, was announced by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and PWD minister Satyendar Jain in 2015. Under the project, these nine roads will be redesigned for efficiency and beautified with the help of plants, street furniture, toilet blocks, solar-powered streetlights besides keeping space for hawkers and pedestrians.

According to PWD officials, redesigning of roads include “change in geometry” of the identified stretches.

“The project designs have been completed and the files for these six stretches have been sent to the government for financial approval around 10 days ago. File for remaining three stretches will be sent for approval next week. The department is planning to float tenders by December this year,” said a senior PWD official, requesting anonymity.

Progress has been slow on the project because of changes in the designs and also due to bureaucratic hurdles, the official said. “After the Supreme Court’s order on power tussle in Delhi, there is no need to send the files of the project to the lieutenant governor. So now this project is on the priority list of the government and has been fast-tracked,” the official added.

Another PWD official, also associated with the project, said roads and footpaths would be more efficiently redesigned to create more space for traffic and pedestrians. “It is one of the government’s key projects as it envisages enhancement of road capacity by improving the road’s geometry. The additional space will be created by straightening and resurfacing of the road, and removing hindrances and encroachments on the sides,” he said.

According to experts, inefficient road design is one of the major contributors to traffic congestion in Delhi.

S Velmurugan, senior principal scientist, traffic engineering and safety division, Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), said that redesigning of roads was imperative in Delhi as there were several stretches where traffic congestion was only because of improper geometry of the road and encroachments.

He said that there are many locations where transformers and trees are seen falling in the right of way of the roads. “Corridor improvement is very much needed. We have to understand that pedestrian movement is as important as vehicular traffic. It is true that wider roads are needed to cater to heavy traffic but we also need proper footpaths and ramps for pedestrians,” he said.