The 500-metre stretch on NH 48 (Delhi-Jaipur highway) between Rangpuri and Rajokari, which was shut last week for three months, has caused much agony to commuters travelling between Gurugram/IGI Airport and Delhi. However, there is light at the end of this tunnel. The construction activity over the 500-metre stretch is part of a larger project which, when commissioned, will give commuters access to the largest multi-level interchange facility in the Capital, say officials.
This facility will ensure smooth flow of traffic and reduce travel time between Delhi-Gurugram, and Delhi-Dwarka, officials said.
The facility, coming up near Shiv Murti, will have a two-level underground interchange with various exits, a flyover and a four-km-long tunnel, which will facilitate traffic movement in 12 different directions. It is part of the larger Dwarka Expressway project, bypassing NH 48 near IGI Airport and Kherki Daula near Manesar. According to sources, the expressway has been designed to be a fully access-controlled grade-separated 14-lane highway, which will be the first-of-its-kind in the country.
A National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) official, who did not wish to be named, said the interchange will facilitate smooth traffic flow between Delhi and Gurugram by doing away with the need for several U-turns.
“The flyover will start near Shiv Murti and connect with Dwarka Link Road, reducing the travel time from Delhi to Dwarka. It will be commissioned in June. Those travelling from Delhi to Dwarka in the meantime need to travel to Rajokari flyover to make a U-turn,” said the official.
Similarly, one of the exits of the two-level underground interchange will facilitate the movement from Dwarka to Gurugram without the need to travel to Mahipalpur for a U-turn. Moreover, a proposed 4-km-long tunnel near Shiv Murti to Nelson Mandela Marg would allow commuters travelling from Gurugram to Vasant Kunj to take a right turn and help them save considerable time and fuel.
“The portion of the interchange facility on the 500-metre stretch of the NH 48, blocked to traffic, is expected to be completed before the monsoon. But the commissioning of the entire project would take longer,” said the official.
He added that the four-km proposed tunnel project is still in the pipeline. “Work on it would be carried out separately. However, construction of the tunnel would not hamper the traffic movement on NH 48,” the official said.
