The Centre is considering a proposal to construct an elevated parallel highway and a tunnel from Haryana side connecting with the Indira Gandhi International Airport to ease traffic woes, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said today.
If materialised, this will be in addition to Dwarka Express Highway, the work on which will start soon, Road Transport and Highways Minister Gadkari, who had a high-level meeting with Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajpathi Raju in this connection, told PTI.
"We are examining a proposal to build an elevated parallel road to the airport and traffic from Haryana side can be diverted to it. The main obstacle is there are two radars on the sides of the proposed elevated road. I have discussed with the Civil Aviation Minister and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) if there is any possibility for changing the position of the radars," the minister said.
The minister said the government will also construct a tunnel from Haryana side and connect it with the T3 international airport to reduce the frequent traffic jams.
"We have given these two proposals to him (Raju)," Gadkari said.
The minister said both the proposals are in addition to the proposed Dwarka Express way for which he "took a review meeting with Union Civil Aviation Minister Raju and Airport authority to resolve issues".
Gadkari said earlier the Haryana government was constructing the Dwarka Expressway but now the Centre will do it by declaring it a national highway.
"The process of land acquisition between Delhi and Haryana has started. We will start the work soon," he said.
Meanwhile work on the ambitious Rs 800 crore pilot pod taxi project - also known as Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) or Metrino - is also likely to start soon.
The minister had recently said, "We are going to implement the Rs 800-crore pilot project under NHAI."
The pilot project will be for about Rs 800 crore for a 12.3-km stretch from Delhi-Haryana border on NH 8 (near Ambience Mall) to Badshahpur via Rajiv Chowk, IFFCO and Sohna Road.
Four global companies -- one from London which has done work in this regard at the Heathrow airport, second from the UAE, third from the US and the fourth from Poland -- had qualified in initial technical bids.
The Rs 4,000-crore public transport project provides for travel in driver-less pods suspended on a ropeway in NCR.
The first phase will be connecting the 70-km stretch from Dhaula Kuan in Delhi to Manesar in Haryana to decongest NCR and ease traffic.
A few months ago, a presentation on the project was made before Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union Cabinet.
Gadkari has said the massive work is under way to reform the face of the highway sector and the pilot project will be one such step in that direction.
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