Ashram flyover to extend to DND flyover

NEW DELHI: In a bid to ease the traffic problems on one of the most heavily congested stretches in the city, Delhi government has approved the extension of Ashram flyover to DND flyway, which connects Delhi-Noida. Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister of Delhi, announced in a press conference that the project would be executed in a budget of Rs 128.95 crore and take one year for completion.

The proposed flyover is a 1.4 km extension of the 6- lane DND flyover and would ease the congestion in the stretch between the Moolchand crossing and Sarai Kale Khan. A three-lane up-ramp for vehicles heading from ITO and Sarai Kale Khan to South Delhi will also be constructed as a part of the flyover connecting from DND loop. There is also a plan to add a pedestrian subway at Maharani Bagh junction in the new route.

The official data estimates a daily count of about 13,500 vehicles at this stretch, out of which 7,500 come from Noida and Greater Noida and 6,000 from South Delhi merging at the small stretch of the road. “The Ashram intersection has traffic merging from two different routes with heavy footfalls. Anand Vihar via Sarai Kale khan and Noida to Delhi via DND flyover both merge on the intersection and hence, this results in slow traffic movement in the section between Maharani Bagh and Ashram,” said Dr Sewa Ram, Professor, School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), Delhi. With the new development, the traffic going to Noida and Ghaziabad would be prioritised by merging the proposed elevated track to the six-lane DND. Citing that there are technical flaws in the design at the intersection, Dr Sewa Ram believes that the construction of the new flyover would ease the traffic congestion to a certain extent. “There is a requirement of making the network continuous in order to ensure congestion free movement of traffic. This would be ensured with the development of this flyway. This would also end up easing the traffic woes of the people who are undertaking shorter commutes in South Delhi,” the expert pointed out. 

The execution of such a project at this time is critical as Sarai Kale Khan would soon become a major nodal point in public transit in the near future. “The implementation of such a connecting flyover project is necessary as Sarai Kale Khan would become a big interchange in the time to come. Plans of developing a Rapid Road Transit Network, ISBTs etc. are already in place. We need to ensure fast access to it,” Dr. Sewa Ram said.

Officials further added that pedestrians will also have a safe travel. Currently, at Maharani Bagh pedestrians take support of Red Light to cross the road on the Ring Road. Red Light will be scrapped after this plan. Also, there will be a subway constructed for pedestrians, with which pedestrians will be able to move safely.