CM sets 2013 deadline for Signature Bridge

The Rs. 1,131-crore project to link the Marginal Bund Road near the Khajuri Khas intersection with the Outer Ring Road will be ready for use by the end of 2013, the Delhi government has promised.

The Rs. 1,131-crore project to link the Marginal Bund Road near the Khajuri Khas intersection with the Outer Ring Road will be ready for use by the end of 2013, the Delhi government has promised.

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Chief minister Sheila Dikshit on Wednesday visited the site of the Signature Bridge project, which has been hobbled by delays.

The chief minister told the authorities that no further delays would be tolerated.

"No delay will be tolerated in commissioning of the project as the bridge will be crucial for the smooth flow of traffic across the Yamuna and other major roads on both sides of the river. This will prove to be the new landmark of the Capital," she said.

"The company should monitor the progress of construction on a daily basis in order to ensure the bridge's commissioning by December 2013 as promised in the contract. They have to make up for the delay," Dikshit added.

The Signature Bridge will consist of a western approach main flyover, western approach loops, eastern approach main flyover, eastern approach embankment and the main bridge. The Khajuri Khas intersection is on the eastern side of the proposed bridge while the Outer Ring Road on its western side.

The 1.4km-long carriageway on the western approach main flyover, however, will be thrown open for traffic this month, officials said.

The eight-lane bridge across the Yamuna downstream of the bridge-cum-barrage at Wazirabad is being constructed by the Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation. The bridge, once complete, is expected to free up the flow of traffic.

Three loops on the western approach can be used by the public from November this year, while another three of the loops are likely to be functional by next June.