NH-8 on expansion path

With traffic volume on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway increasing by the day, the government is trying to work out solutions to prevent frequent pile-ups. Sanjeev K Ahuja reports.

With traffic volume on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway increasing by the day, the government is trying to work out solutions to prevent frequent pile-ups.

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The latest plan is to expand the existing two-lane service roads, along the main carriageway, and make them four-lane.

For this, the Haryana government has agreed to give National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) 15-metre land on either side of the expressway while the latter will bear the cost of construction.

The move is aimed at decongesting the service roads which are choc-a-bloc during peak hours. The state government has also taken up the issue of expansion of crowded crossings such as Iffco Chowk which fall in Gurgaon, on the expressway.

The total length of the highway between RTR Marg and 42nd Milestone is about 28 kms and 10 kms fall in Delhi.

A senior government official said NHAI had accepted the state's offer and agreed to bear the expansion cost. “The service roads are about seven metres wide and we plan to widen these further by another seven meters. Two lanes of 3.5 metres each will be added on both sides,” an official said.