Stand by for a smoother ride to Delhi airport: 10 projects that will decongest roads to IGI

Underpasses, flyover and new roads are being constructed around Delhi airport for better connectivity. Take a look at the 10 projects in various stages of development that will make the ride to airport smoother.

Last month, a study by Delhi-based School of Planning and Architecture found that accessibility to the Delhi airport was far worse than many other Metro cities. It also showed that average car speed within the 25-km radius of the airport is lowest in Delhi, indicating the presence of traffic bottlenecks and snarls around the airport.

At least five of these projects were planned 10 years ago but only two have been completed. Another five were planned by 2010 but they are yet to be approved. (HT FILE)

This might soon change as at least 10 projects, under various stages of development, are expected to improve connectivity to the Indira Gandhi International Airport. The Delhi airport operator, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), also confirmed that it is in touch with various ministries and wants a fresh study by international consultant to identify bottlenecks on roads leading to airport.

These projects may not be progressing at the desired pace because of the involvement of several agencies and the need for approval from various quarters. At least five of these projects were planned 10 years ago but only two have been completed. Another five were planned by 2010 but they are yet to be approved.

Of these, decongestion of National Highway 8 is the most important. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is working on a proposal to remove three traffic signals on the stretch between Dhaula Kuan and the point where Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway begins.

“Another project that would decongest NH8 is extension of Nelson Mandela Marg up to Gurgaon-Manesar bypass so that Gurgaon-bound traffic can take an alternative route,” said an airport official.

According to official, current approaches leading to Delhi airport have a number of bottlenecks, which makes the access roads unreliable and cause large variation in the journey time during peak and off-peak periods as highlighted by SPA in its study.

In 2006, when Delhi airport was privatised, Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) was asked to prepare a Comprehensive Traffic Management and circulation plan in and around IGI airport. The CRRI recommended five road projects of which only two have been completed in the last nine years.

“DIAL has identified accessibility to the airport as one of the key focus areas and taken up the traffic decongestion with relevant government departments to find appropriate short term and long term solutions. CRRI had done a traffic study several years ago and suggested solutions, many of which are yet to be implemented,” said I Prabhakara Rao, DIAL-CEO.

“Meanwhile, the traffic pattern has undergone significant change since then and there have been many developments in the surrounding areas. In view of this, we feel there is a need for a fresh traffic study for carrying out improvement of road corridors, leading to IGIA, by a reputed International consultant,” he Rao said.

“The study would ensure accessibility for the airport both by road and Metro, keeping in view the security scenario and need to minimize traffic snarls caused by VIP movement. The selected international consultant, having experience of handling similar tasks in other large airports in the world, would be asked to plan a dedicated and congestion free route. Besides improving the connectivity to IGI airport, this would also serve as an emergency evacuation route,” he said.