Six months later, cracks appear on Rs 200 crore Delhi-Gurugram flyover
Gurugram: Six months after flyover at the Hero Chowk along the National Highway-8, also known as Delhi-Gurugram Expressway, was formally inaugurated by the Chief Minister, the movement of the traffic was suspended after it developed massive cracks. There were reports of heavy traffic jams in the area as the major route was closed for movement of the commuters. To prevent the widening of the cracks, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has closed the traffic coming from the Jaipur side so that the maintenance works can be undertaken.
According to the officials, a deadline for a week has been set for the completion of the maintenance works.
The state of art of flyover was built at an approximate cost of Rs 200 crore. The construction of the flyover had brought in lot of laurels for the engineers, contractors and the public officials as it was completed well before its deadline. Controversies soon erupted after the commuters started using the flyover as there were reports of materials coming out on various occasions. This is for the first time, however that a major step has been taken by the NHAI to prevent any untoward incident.
Speaking on the issue, Deputy Commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh also expressed his concern and said that the investigations will be carried out to ascertain the reasons behind the newly constructed flyover developing such cracks. This is not for the first time when issues of construction flaws have been raised in various underpasses and flyovers that have come up at the Delhi-Jaipur expressway. Earlier, concerns were raised about the widening gap at the IFFCO Chowk flyover. The matter was however resolved after a senior NHAI official public issued a statement that there was no matter of concern and the flyover was safe for usage.
Public agencies in Gurugram however faced immense criticism after the roof of underpasses at Rajiv Chowk and Signature towers collapsed during dust storm in April this year. One of the major highlights of ML Khattar led government is the development works at the major routes of Gurugram among which NH-8 is most visible. A route where lakhs of vehicles were held up for more than 16 hours due to few mm of rain in July 2016 have now given way to underpasses and flyovers.
Not only National Highway-8 but citizens have also expressed their dissatisfaction over planning and quality of construction on Golf Course road. Despite being made a signal-free road, there were complaints of water-logging and traffic jam on the major road.
