Major projects to decongest Delhi-NCR to be inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi soon, says Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari

Gadkari outlined 10 projects worth Rs 35,600 crore to ease the load on Delhi's arterial roads.

Gadkari listed projects both inside and around Delhi-NCR. (Representational image)

NEW DELHI: Union Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has said the Delhi-Dasna portion of the Delhi-Meerut Expressway would be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 29. He also said 10 projects at a cost of Rs 35,600 crore in and around the Delhi-NCR region would be aimed at reducing congestion within the megapolis.

On the same day he inaugurates the completed portion of the Delhi-Meerut Expressway in a road show, PM Modi will also inaugurate the Eastern Peripheral Expressway. Along with the Western Peripheral Expressway, the two complementary projects would help vehicles either circumvent the megacity or enter it at a point that's closer to their final destination.

Gadkari said over 40,000 commercial vehicles enter the city every single day, and that these projects are aimed at curbing that number by reducing the reasons these vehicles enter the core areas of the city.

He also spokes of a few projects within Delhi's urban sprawl that are aimed at helping traffic flow from one spot quicker. One of these projects is a signal-free corridor from Dhaula Kuan to the airport.  The corridor project has already been awarded to a contractor at a cost of Rs 260 crore, and work can be expected to begin soon.

There were also a number of projects aimed at relieving the bottlenecks between Delhi and Gurgaon. One of the projects on this front would be an eight-lane fully access-controlled Dwarka Expressway. The project has been divided into in four packages, of which three packages have already been awarded. Work on the Expressway is likely to start in a month's time. The total investment on the project has been estimated at Rs 9500 crore.

Work is also underway to develop a bypass to connect Dwarka with the Mahipalpur-Rangpuri area. Measures are also being taken to develop of major junctions in Gurugram like the proposed flyovers or underpasses at IFFCO Chowk, Signature Tower intersection, Rajiv Chowk and Hero Honda Chowk. Gadkari said works on the projects, costing Rs 1000 crore, have seen a substantial degree of completion.