News: Work on Dwarka Expressway in Gurugram to be done by August: NHAI-10-02-2021
Work on two phases of Dwarka Expressway in Gurugram will be completed by August this year, as more than half the key works on the stretch have been completed, highway authority officials said on Wednesday
Officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) said that barring one plot near Kherki Daula, work on the entire stretch is going on at a fast pace and that the Gurugram portion of the 29-kilometre-long road would be completed in the next few months.
Several key road projects have been delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and issues related to land acquisition.
On Tuesday, Gurugram’s member of Parliament and union minister of state, Rao Inderjit Singh, had called upon the union transport minister, Nitin Gadkari, to discuss the Dwarka Expressway and shifting of Kherki Daula toll plaza.
The Dwarka Expressway will connect Kherki Daula and Shiva temple at Mahipalpur in Delhi. The road will have a toll plaza near Bijwasan and will reduce traffic on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway. The road project is being developed in four phases with two each in Gurugram and Delhi. The ₹7,000-crore project was handed over by the Haryana government to the NHAI in 2016, after multiple delays.
“The deadline for phases three and four of Dwarka Expressway in Gurugram was December 2020, but due to lockdown, the work suffered delays as large number of workers migrated. Now, the situation is under control and work is going on at a good pace. The only minor hiccup is the transfer of a plot at Kherki Daula, which, if expedited, could help in early completion,” said a senior official, who is not authorised to speak to media.
The official said that work on phases 1 and 2 is also expected to be completed in time.
Rao Inderjit Singh said that timely completion of the Dwarka Expressway, Sohna Road, U-turn at Ambience Mall is their top priority. “Dwarka Expressway has been a work in progress for the last decade and the project needs an early conclusion. I also raised the issue of shifting of Kherki Daula toll plaza as the concessionaire has earned more revenue than the money spent on constructing and maintaining the expressway,” he said.
Shifting of Kherki Daula toll plaza has been delayed due to land litigation at Panchgaon. It has been a long-standing demand of the thousands of residents of developing sectors and people working in Manesar-based factories.
Singh also said that he informed Gadkari that work on flyovers at Bilaspur Chowk, Kapdiwas Chowk and Bawal Chowk had progressed only on paper in three years. “I also raised the need for foot overbridges on the Delhi-Jaipur highway, as there are frequent accidents. I was assured by Gadkari ji that all these issues would be taken on priority and resolved,” said Singh.
The union transport minister directed the officials to review work on these projects every 15 days and apprise him the status of work and completion timelines, said Singh.
