Ashram flyover extension will be completed by November: Delhi govt

The Ashram flyover extension work will be completed by November, providing relief to lakhs of people commuting between Noida and Delhi, according to an official statement.

The six-lane flyover will end traffic bottlenecks at Ashram Chowk, a major intersection.

According to PWD officials, the earlier deadline to built the flyover was September this year.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Saturday conducted a site inspection to check the progress of the construction and instructed officials to install additional machinery to expedite the work.

"It was a herculean task to build a flyover in the middle of such a busy Ring Road but the PWD engineers undertook this daunting challenge and delivered. Ashram flyover extension work in full swing, to be completed for citizens use by November," Sisodia said in the statement.

He said that after the completion of this flyover, lakhs of people commuting from Noida and other parts of Delhi to the southern part of the city will be freed from cumbersome traffic jams.

The flyover will allow passengers to bypass three traffic signals between Ashram Chowk and DND Flyway, making vehicular movement smoother.

The total cost of the six-lane flyover is Rs 128.25 crore. Three lane ramp will be for traffic going from south Delhi to Sarai Kale Khan, while the remaining three will for vehicles going from ITO and Sarai Kale Khan to south Delhi.

The total length of the flyover, including the ramp, is 1,425 metres.

LED lights will be installed to light up the flyover. Exquisite artwork will be done on the pillars, the statement said.

Engineers told the minister that all the pillars of the flyover have been erected, and now, the work is going on to put girders on them using large cranes. These cranes require a lot of space to function and this is possible only when the road is closed.

In such a situation, due to heavy traffic throughout the day, the traffic police has permitted construction work only from midnight to 5 AM. If there is an increase in the traffic during this time, the construction work is put on halt by the traffic police, the statement said.

PWD officials said that a total of 146 girders are to be installed on the existing pillars here, but due to the existing challenges, hardly 2-3 girders are installed in a day.

Till now, a total of 56 girders have been placed, with 90 girders pending installation, the statement said.

"Deputy CM instructed the PWD officials that additional cranes must be installed to expedite the construction work and the work of laying the girders should be done at double speed. The flyover extension should be completed at the earliest to relieve citizens from traffic jams, according to the statement.

The flyover extension work started in June 2020.

However, the work was stalled for a long time due to the closure of construction activities during the COVID-19 lockdown and later due to increase in pollution levels.

It also took almost a year to obtain permission from the traffic police to start the construction, due to which the pace of work was reduced further, the statement said.

At present, vehicles coming and going from Noida and Ghaziabad to south Delhi have to grapple with jams while travelling from the DND loop to Ashram intersection.

Currently, vehicles have to take a long route to cross the road from Kilokari, but soon, 150 meters away from Kilokari to Ring Road, drivers will be able to cross the road by taking a U-turn to reach Maharani Bagh or south Delhi.

Similarly, vehicles going from Maharani Bagh to Sarai Kale Khan, Noida, ITO and Ghaziabad will not have to take long detours. A subway for pedestrians is also being constructed here, the statement said.