New Delhi: The Delhi government is set to reduce traffic jams at the Ashram flyover by completing the extension work in November.
By using the flyover passengers can bypass 3 traffic lights between Ashram Chowk and DND, making vehicular movement smoother. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia conducted an on-sight inspection to assess the progress of the construction work. The Minister instructed the engineers to install additional cranes and double the speed of work so that people are relieved from vehicular traffic in the area at the earliest.
The flyover will benefit people commuting from Noida and other parts of Delhi to South Delhi and avoid traffic jams.
The officials informed the Minister that the vehicular load on the road is very high, due to which they have to face several challenges during construction. The pillars for the flyover have been erected, and now, work is ongoing to put girders on them using large cranes. The 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 have permitted construction work only from midnight to 5 am. If there is an increase in traffic during this time, the construction work is put on halt by the Traffic Police.
Officials further said that a total of 146 girders are to be installed on the existing pillars, 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.
Sisodia instructed the PWD officials to use additional cranes to expedite the construction work and the work of laying the girders should be done at double speed.
The construction work of the flyover extension started in June 2020 after the project was approved by the Cabinet. However, the work was stalled for a long time due to the closure of construction activities during the COVID lockdown and later due to an increase in pollution levels. The total cost of the project is Rs 128.25 crore for the 6-lane Ashram Extension Flyover.