Construction of Gurgaon’s Hero Honda Chowk flyover likely to be delayed
“So far only storm water drainage work has been completed. Work on installing of pier cap and casting of girders still needs time and is likely to be completed by next month,” a senior NHAI official said.
The construction of the remaining carriageway of the Hero Honda Chowk flyover, for traffic heading from New Delhi to Manesar, will not be completed this month as pre-monsoon showers have hampered the work, officials said on Tuesday.
Deputy commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh had informed the Haryana Government on Monday that the project is in ‘final stages’ and will be completed within 15 days.
Ashok Kumar Sharma, project director of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) also reiterated the DC’s claim.
“We are engaged in completing the work within the stipulated time. The construction work on the underpass though will take time,” Sharma said.
However, a senior official within the NHAI said that because of the pre-monsoon showers work had to be deferred on several occasions, leading to delays.
“So far only storm water drainage work has been completed. Work on installing of pier cap and casting of girders still needs time and is likely to be completed by next month,” a senior NHAI official said.
In January 2015, the NHAI had selected Valecha engineering as the concessionaire for the project and set May 27, 2017 as the deadline.
Since then, the project has missed multiple deadlines and construction cost has exceeded Rs 200 crore, official sources said.
HT’s report on June 6 had also highlighted that the project will not be completed by its latest deadline of June 30.
Aside from helping commuters bypass traffic converging at Hero Honda Chowk from Pataudi, Sohna, Manesar and Gurgaon, the 1.4 km carriageway holds importance for helping motorists evade the junction that is perennially waterlogged each monsoon.
In the interim, NHAI has stated that it will open the existing carriageway (for traffic heading from Jaipur to Manesar) for two way traffic during emergencies.
However, with space only for four lanes on the carriageway, the effectiveness of this solution remains questionable.