Manesar-Palwal stretch of expressway to open in Sept

After a long wait, the Delhi and Haryana government have finally decided to throw open the 52km stretch between Manesar and Palwal by September.

After a long wait, the Delhi and Haryana government have finally decided to throw open the 52km stretch between Manesar and Palwal by September.

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This was decided by Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit and Haryana counterpart BS Hooda, who met at the Delhi secretariat on Friday. The meet was aimed at resolving all issues affecting the commissioning of Western Peripheral Expressway, which will provide a bypass to traffic not bound for Delhi.

Both chief ministers maintained that the move would go a long way in decongesting Delhi’s roads, besides curbing vehicular pollution in the Capital.

“This move will reduce vehicular pollution by 80% in Delhi,” said Bhure Lal, chairman of Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA).

Work on the Manesar-Palwal stretch is 90% complete. Dikshit and Hooda have also set a deadline of May 31, 2013, to commission the Western Peripheral Expressway. “Completion of the Manesar to Kundli section is critical to ensure that the four national highways are properly connected and traffic is diverted,” said Dikshit.

The construction work on the peripheral expressways has been undertaken based on the feasibility studies by NCR Planning Board and a decision of the Supreme Court. The Western Peripheral Expressway will connect NH-1 at Kundli and NH-2 at Faridabad, via NH-10 and NH-8. It has a length of 135km in Haryana. The project is in the hands of the Haryana State Industrial & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (HSIIDC) and construction is being done through cost concessionaire on Built on Operate (BOT) basis.

So far, 60% of the project has been completed.

According to officials, due to the delays in the land acquisition, the cost of Western Peripheral Expressway has increased from 167 crore to 1,110 crore. The cost of land of both Western and Eastern Peripheral Expressways will be shared by Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.