RTR flyover work to hit ride to Delhi airport, trial runs in September
A three-kilometre stretch on the left carriageway is being closed to allow work on a parallel flyover, which is expected to ease traffic on a stretch where gridlocks are common.
Commuters in the Capital will in September get a teaser of the six-month traffic nightmare that awaits them beginning October when the choked Rao Tula Ram (RTR) flyover will be shut for airport traffic.
The public works department (PWD) and traffic police will on two days test the plan drawn to divert the vehicles using outer ring road to get to the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport from south Delhi.
“Permanent restrictions will be in place from October but in coming days, we will do a trial run, one on a weekend and one on a weekday. Diversions will be planned accordingly,” a PWD official told Hindustan Times on Saturday.
The dates are yet to be decided.
A three-kilometre stretch on the left carriageway is being closed to allow work on a parallel flyover, which is expected to ease traffic on a stretch where gridlocks are common.
However, the vehicles coming traffic from the airport will continue to ply as normal using the flyover, which is built on the road that connects south Delhi to IGI.
Traffic marshals will assist commuters. Those driving to airport from Nehru Place or Munirka will have to take Nelson Mandela Marg and Vasant Kunj road.
Read: Delhi govt in a race against time to finish new flyover parallel to RTR
Residents of areas such as Vasant Vihar, West End and Anand Niketan that are next to the flyover will be allowed to use the road below the flyover.
“We are working out a plan where locals who are living in the restricted area are allowed to go. We are also in touch with the resident welfare associations to minimise inconvenience,” the official said.
The commuters using Shanti Path and RTR road usually turn right for the airport and for them, the same traffic pattern will continue with a minor change.
Instead of turning right after the traffic lights, drivers will be directed towards the army base camp from where they will head to National Highway 8. Commuters coming from Benito Juarez Marg will also follow the same drill.
The 900-metre RTR flyover, opened to public in October 2009, was a single carriageway.
To decongest it, a decision was taken in 2014 to build a parallel flyover. The work, however, got delayed for various reasons including residents challenging the decision in court, the officer said.
“Now, most of the pillars of new flyover have been erected and we have to launch girder now,” the official said.
The traffic will be back to normal in April 2018 and the 2.7-km long flyover will be ready two months later.