Gurgaon: Inauguration of underpasses at Rajiv Chowk, Signature Tower rescheduled to Jan 22

Initially, the underpasses built by the National Highways Authority of India were to be inaugurated by chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on January 20 during his visit to Gurgaon for the first meeting of the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority. This meeting stands cancelled for now.

The two newly built underpasses at Rajiv Chowk and Signature Tower on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway are set to be opened for the traffic on January 22, later than the initial schedule.

The underpass at the Rajiv Chowk would be used by commuters crossing the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway to go towards the Sohna Road. The other underpass at the Rajiv Chowk was opened for traffic on August 14, 2017, along with a flyover at the Maharana Pratap Chowk, also known as the MDI Chowk. (Sanjeev Verma/HT Photo)

Initially, the underpasses—built by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)—were scheduled to be inaugurated by chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on January 20 during his visit to Gurgaon for the first meeting of the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA).

This meeting stands cancelled for now.

The underpass at Rajiv Chowk would be used by commuters crossing the expressway to go to the Sohna Road, while the Signature Tower underpass will bring relief to commuters heading from Huda City Centre to Atul Kataria Chowk.

Union minister of state for road transport and highways Mansukh L Mandaviya, CM Khattar and state PWD minister Rao Narbir Singh, among others, will attend the opening of the underpasses that will decongest the road, which is among the city’s busiest.

“The Hero Honda Chowk, Rajiv Chowk, Signature Tower and Iffco Chowk are the four major junctions on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway. The road needed to be decongested urgently and so underpasses and flyovers were planned so commuters could escape city traffic,” an NHAI official said.

Even as residents heaved a sigh of relief, they also expressed their disappointment with the government re-scheduling the opening. They also criticised the state government’s “incompetence” in clearing road blocks that delay infrastructure development.

“Initially, the underpasses were supposed to be inaugurated on January 20. But the government cancelled the opening ceremony on Wednesday and, on Thursday, made fresh announcement with new date for the inauguration; this is all a joke. We have been waiting for underpasses and flyovers to be opened so that they bring permanent solution to city’s perennial jams,” said Umed Singh, resident of Sector 21.

Singh gave credit to the NHAI, which completed constructions of five underpasses and five flyovers at the Hero Honda Chowk, the Rajiv Chowk, the Signature Tower, the Iffco Chowk and the MDI Chowk in past two years.

“The state government has failed to shift the petrol pump blocking construction of MG Road underpass,” he said.

The much-awaited inauguration comes close on heels of the NHAI opening up several flyovers and underpasses at the Hero Honda Chowk, the Rajiv Chowk, the Signature Tower and the Iffco Chowk.

On July 24, 2017, the NHAI opened flyover at the Hero Honda Chowk. On August 14, 2017, one of the two underpasses at the Rajiv Chowk and a flyover at the Maharana Pratap Chowk (also known as MDI Chowk) was opened. On November 3, 2017, one of the three flyovers at the Iffco Chowk was opened for traffic.

In 2014, the NHAI planned to decongest the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway. The construction began two years later in September.