“The tunnel will be in continuation of National Highway-24. It will begin from Nizamuddin bridge and connect commuters to Lodhi Colony via Humayun’s tomb-Neela Gumbad,” said a PWD source.
A 2.5 km tunnel from Millennium Park to Lodhi colony may soon connect East Delhi to South Delhi directly, reducing daily commuting time by at least 40 minutes.
Officials in the Public Works Department (PWD) said that while the move is aimed at reducing travel time and preventing traffic jams at Ashram Chowk and Bhairon Marg, the department is working closely with the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to integrate the tunnel with Delhi-Meerut expressway.
“The tunnel will be in continuation of National Highway-24. It will begin from Nizamuddin bridge and connect commuters to Lodhi Colony via Humayun’s tomb-Neela Gumbad,” said a PWD source.
He added that since Lodhi Colony and the NH 24 are in one symmetrical line, it increases the feasibility of the project.
The Delhi-Meerut expressway is the pet project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the PWD is hoping to bank on the same to ensure that the project can be expedited.
The expressway project involves a 74-km long Delhi-Dasna-Meerut 14-lane Expressway and upgradation of the 22 km-long Dasna-Hapur section of the NH-24 is at a total cost of Rs 7,566 crore. The closure is for the 8.7 km stretch in Delhi, of the 96 km expressway.
PWD officials said that once constructed the tunnel and flyover will also aid in protecting the world heritage site Humayun’s Tomb from vehicular emissions. Officials however also added that while the project had previously also been floated in 2006 and 2007, the lack of NOCs from ASI and Delhi Zoo led to the project being shelved.
“The Barapullah flyover was conceived after the tunnel project was shelved. However, once again the feasibility of the project is being checked, and it is already in the first phase of UTTIPEC,” said a PWD official. A source added that once approved from UTTIPEC, the project will be completed within 24 months.
Currently, those commuting from East Delhi have two options to reach Lodhi Colony either from Ashram Chowk or through Bhairon Marg. However, due to heavy traffic on both the major roads, they are constantly infested with traffic snarls. “With the construction of the tunnel, the distance between Nizamuddin Bridge and Lodhi Road, which is over seven kilometres at present from either side, will be reduced to 2.5 km,” said a PWD official.
Sources also said that PWD is also planning to make the existing one-way flyover over Nizamuddim bridge — two way.
“We are also thinking about the construction of another flyover from Bhairon Marg towards Ashram Chowk, which will make the existing one way flyover into two-way fully functional flyover,” said a PWD official.
He added that the department is also in talks with NHAI to integrate the entire project with the existing plan of constructing the Delhi-Meerut expressway. “The NHAI is planning to construct a flyover atop of the existing Sarai Kale Khan flyover, therefore we are in talks with them to ensure that the entire project is integrated into one to expedite the project.”
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