Dwarka expressway to reduce Gurugram to IGIA travel time

Pradeep Sharma

The work on the eight-lane Dwarka expressway is set to begin next month. It will provide an alternative route from Gurugram to Delhi, especially the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA).

“Tenders for the Rs 7,200-crore expressway have already been called and the construction work will be fast-tracked next month. It will provide better connectivity between Gurugram and New Delhi,” says Rao Narbir Singh, Haryana PWD Minister.

At present, the Delhi-Gurugram section of the National Highway-8 is part of the Delhi-Jaipur-Ahmedabad-Mumbai arm of the Golden Quadrilateral (GQ). The Delhi-Gurugram section carries thousands of vehicles daily which is much beyond the design capacity of this eight-lane highway, leading to severe congestion.

In fact, the highway also provides lone connectivity to the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) from Gurugram and traffic jams are a routine, especially during peak hours.

Officials say there is an urgent need to develop an alternative link between Delhi and Gurugram to bypass the existing congestion on the NH-8. The Dwarka expressway, which is a bypass of Gurugram, has been conceived keeping in view the issues of connectivity and congestion. 

The alignment of the Dwarka expressway takes off from Shiv Murti (Gurugram) on the NH-8 and terminates near Kherki Daula. Of the total 29 km length of the expressway, 18.9 km falls in Haryana and remaining 10.1 km in Delhi. 

It is also proposed to provide connectivity to the IGIA (Terminal 3) from the Dwarka side through the expressway. This will provide alternative connectivity to the airport from West Delhi and Haryana. 

Meanwhile, the expressway will also provide direct access from Gurugram to the upcoming Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre spread over about 90 hectares at Sector 25 in Dwarka. 

Officials say the proposed Dwarka expressway will be an eight-lane highway with a provision of three-lane service roads on either side. Keeping in view the likely flow of traffic, this urban expressway is being developed as a fully access-controlled facility and about 70 per cent of its length will be elevated. 

At major intersections, multi-level interchanges have been proposed. For monitoring of traffic movement, incident management and tolling and an Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) have been proposed to be developed. 

The funding of the expressway will be provided from the Bharatmala Pariyojana of the Central Government.

Fact sheet

• Provides an alternative route from Gurugram to Delhi, especially the Indira Gandhi International Airport.
• Tenders for the Rs 7,200-crore expressway have already been called and the construction work will be fast-tracked next month.
• The alignment of the Dwarka expressway takes off from Shiv Murti (Gurugram) on the National Highway-8 and terminates near Kherki Daula. 
• Of the total 29 km length of the expressway, 18.9 km falls in Haryana and remaining 10.1 km in Delhi.
• The proposed expressway will have eight lanes with a provision of three-lane service roads on either side. 
• About 70 per cent of its length will be elevated.