Delhi: Parallel RTR flyover gets fifth deadline

NEW DELHI: The

Public Works Department

has once again revised the

deadline

for completing the

parallel flyover

on

RTR Marg

to

December 2018

.

Only 34% of the work has been completed so far.

The slow pace of work has been a serious cause of concern for PWD. The civic agency had planned to start work on placing girders last year, but it got delayed. “The work has picked up now. We have started placing the girders. Of the 76 spans, 30-35 are ready. We aim to place all the girders by September. The work will be carried out between 10pm and 6am every day,” said an official.

Sources said the department is rethinking its decision to seek permission from the Delhi traffic police to close the entire left carriageway between Nelson Mandela Marg and the Army hospital (a 3km-long stretch) for six months to carry out construction work.

With Central Public Works Department (CPWD) all set to start work on the Mahipalpur bypass, which is scheduled to be completed by March 2019, sources said closing the entire stretch may not be possible. According to the initial plan, PWD was to close Nelson Mandela Marg to Poorvi Marg in Vasant Vihar for airport-bound traffic coming from the IIT-Delhi side. The traffic was to be diverted to Nelson Mandela Marg and then to Abdul Gaffar Khan Marg towards NH-8 via Mahipalpur, and to Mahipalpur bypass (which opens on NH-8 just before the hotels). In the next phase, the entire stretch till the Army hospital was to be closed.

Though PWD has sought permission for diversion of traffic to Nelson Mandela Marg, it is done only during night hours. “We are now working out the traffic circulation plan so that we can carry on with the work without disrupting traffic movement during the day. We will close the section during night hours,” said an official.

Initially, the work got delayed due to delay in getting permission to shift utilities and cut trees. It got further delayed because of the contractor, claimed a PWD official.

PWD had issued a notice to the contractor, Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) Limited, for levying compensation due to delay in the completion of the project in October last year. Officials said five such notices were issued to the contractor last year.