Eye on future traffic demand, government okays elevated roads under Delhi Metro

According to the cabinet note, elevated roads will be built below the Rithala-Narela, Janakpuri West-RK Ashram and Mukundpur-Maujpur Metro corridors.

Gauging future traffic demand in areas where new Metro projects are to begin, the Delhi government on Wednesday gave in-principle approval for constructing elevated roads under some corridors coming up under the Metro Phase-IV project.

Delhi’s deputy CM Manish Sisodia and transport minister Kailash Gahlot at a press conference about the Delhi Metro Phase-IV project, New Delhi, December 19, 2018. (HT Photo)

Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said the government ideated the project which will be executed by the DMRC.

“It is proposed that these elevated road corridors will run below the elevated Metro corridor to provide better traffic flow. So, it will be a three-tier structure with the usual surface road, the elevated road in the middle and the Metro corridor on top.

The project will be funded 100% by the Delhi government,” he said.

According to the cabinet note, elevated roads will be built below the Rithala-Narela, Janakpuri West-RK Ashram and Mukundpur-Maujpur Metro corridors.

Sisodia also said that the Cabinet made this decision after the urban development department observed that wherever elevated Metro corridors were constructed, building or expanding roads below it became “nearly impossible”.

Government officials, however, said the project is at a nascent stage and additional details such as the existing traffic condition and the projected demand would now be studied.

“Now that in-principle approval has been given, the DMRC will begin preparing the detailed project report (DPR) which will include all such details,” an official said.

Officials in the urban development (UD) department said the project was floated by UD minister Satyendar Jain.

“The areas where lines under Phase-IV will open are not so densely populated as yet. But the Metro opens up land in every city and commissioning of Phase-IV lines would mean more people would start living around these corridors, resulting in a significant increase in population and vehicular traffic,” another official said on condition of anonymity.