Noida, Gzb get moving; boost for NH 24 widening project

The plan to widen NH 24 to eight lanes from UP Gate to Vijay Nagar gets a boost with the Noida Authority and the Ghaziabad Development Authority depositing their share of Rs 15 crore each for the project.

The plan to widen National Highway 24 to eight lanes from UP Gate to Vijay Nagar got a boost with the Noida Authority and the Ghaziabad Development Authority depositing their share of Rs 15 crore each for the project.

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The estimated project cost is Rs 90 crore. The National Highway Authority of India is supposed to bear half the cost –– Rs 45 crore. The other 50 per cent is to be paid by the Noida Authority, the Ghaziabad Development Authority and the UP Housing & Development Board. Their contribution comes to Rs 15 crore each.

The project will lessen traffic jams at UP Gate, Khoda crossing, NIBM crossing, Model Town chowki, Shipra Sun City crossing and Vijay Nagar crossing. Moreover, it will make access to Indirapuram, Vaishali and Kaushambi easy. Connectivity to Noida Sector 62 and Electronic City too will become smooth.

Ghaziabad Development Authority secretary Raj Kumar Sacchan said: “GDA has paid Rs 15 crore. NHAI will announce the construction schedule once the UP Housing & Development Board pays up.”

Noida senior project engineer L.K. Gupta said the Noida Authority had already deposited Rs 15 crore. “Although the authority had planned three underpasses, now only one underpass project is being undertaken which connects Noida Sector 62 with Indirapuram near Shipra Mall.”

The UP Housing & Development Board, however, is still waiting for its headquarters to approve the payment.

Federation of Indirapuram RWAs coordinator Kuldip Saxena felt that the area needed the underpasses to ease traffic on the NH 24 stretch. “Earlier, the Noida Authority and the GDA had proposed three underpasses — one near Shipra Mall, another at Kala Pathar and the third near the Indirapuram police station. It appears the project has been shelved,” said Saxena.

Noida residents too feel the need for more underpasses. “Sector 62 residents cross to Indirapuram for shopping. Likewise, Indirapuram residents cross over to Noida for hospitals. The underpass projects should not be shelved,” said S.M. Singh, Federation of Noida Sector 62 Apartments RWAs president.