Golf Course road: Genpact underpass may open for trial on March 31

Gurgaon residents await launch of project which was to be completed last year

The much-awaited underpass at Genpact Chowk on the Golf Course Road is likely to be opened on March 31 on a trial basis as per Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) officials.

Gurgaon, India- February 21, 2018: The underpass at Genpact Chowk on the Golf Course Road is likely to be launched on March 31 as per Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) officials, in Gurgaon, India, on Wednesday, February 21, 2018. (Photo by Parveen Kumar/Hindustan Times) (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

Genpact Chowk is located next to the condominiums of DLF-5 and MNCs located on the Golf Course Road. It also leads commuters towards residential areas on the Golf Course Extension Road and connects with the Gurgaon-Faridabad Road.

The 700-metre two-way underpass will hence help commuters avoid congestion at the junction where traffic from DLF-5, St Thomas Marg and Gurgaon-Faridabad Road converges.

“The construction of the (Genpact Chowk) underpass is complete and it will open on a trial basis to the public on March 31. Depending on the public feedback, and, if needed, engineering changes may be executed prior to officially opening all underpasses on Golf Course Road and in Cyber City,” Yashpal Yadav, HUDA administrator said.

In the absence of the underpass, crossing the stretch can take up to 25 minutes during peak hours. Hence, residents have been eagerly awaiting its opening.

“Despite the roads around Genpact Chowk being re-carpeted, the two-lane road is ill-equipped to handle such a large volume of traffic often leading to snarls. Therefore, the underpass is an urgent requirement for streamlining traffic movement,” Mihir Kohli, a resident of DLF-5 said.

According to residents, another need for the underpass is to help them bypass the congestion at the Sector 53-54 Metro station.

“Owing to the Rapid Metro station’s (Sector 53-54 Metro station) location, there is heavy traffic ahead of the Genpact Chowk as both commercial and private vehicles stop to drop or pick people availing of the facility. Hence, the underpass will also help commuters evade congestion caused due to the Metro service as its ending point lies just ahead of the station. Instead of waiting for 15-20 minutes during peak hours, the underpass will let us cross the stretch within minutes,” Divya Surekha, a resident of Suncity said.

Residents living in sectors 27, 28, 42, 43, 54, 55 and 56 will largely benefit from the opening of the underpass.

With its completion, it will be the seventh and last underpass to open on the 8.3 km signal-free stretch between sectors 55/56 and Shankar Chowk.

The Huda and DLF are jointly building the underpass, which was expected to open in the first quarter of 2017. No official date of opening was set for the project.

The project’s construction began simultaneously with the phase 2 expansion of the Rapid Metro. Labour shortage, delay in shifting of an underground gas pipeline located near the underpass are the reasons cited for the delay in its construction.