Bids received for project to ease Delhi-Gurugram traffic

The Centre is working on major ambitious new projects to ease ever-growing traffic between Delhi and Gurugram, with bids received for one of these.

At least three bidders have submitted plans to build a stretch parallel to National Highway (NH) 48 that connects Delhi and Gurugram via the Delhi Gurugram Expressway.

Sources in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways told The Tribune today that the contract for the project could be awarded as early as next month.

“There is a plan to create a route alternate to NH-48 for connecting Delhi and Gurugram. The proposal is to have a combination of elevated corridors and multiple new tunnels from INA to Vasant Kunj in Delhi and from Vasant Kunj onwards to Gurgaon,” a top Ministry source said today, adding that the decision on where to have elevated roads and tunnels will depend on the location geography.

“Near INA for example, tunnels are more feasible than an elevated road,” this source said.

From Vasant Kunj, the plan is to take the same combination of underground, overground road project right up to the location of Lord Shiva statue on NH-48 and connect it to the Dwarka Expressway.

The second project in the offing is an East-West tunnel to ease Delhi traffic.

“The proposal is to start building the tunnel where the Delhi-Meerut Expressway ends on the Ring Road and have it merge at Vasant Kunj with the road project envisaged from INA,” Road Transport ministry sources added.

Yet another ambitious project for which Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has commissioned feasibility studies is a 12-lane tunnel from around Talkatora grounds in Delhi to a suitable Gurugram location.

“Feasibility study has been ordered for this potential 12-lane tunneling project to connect Delhi and Gurugram through the underground route,” a top Ministry source said.

The fourth project connecting Delhi and Gurugram — Maharani Bagh to Sohna in Gurugram - is meanwhile learnt to be in the last leg. “The Maharani Bagh-Sohna road could open for traffic as early as March next year,” a top official told The Tribune.

This six-lane stretch, once it opens, will decongest Delhi’s Mathura Road and reduce travel time between Delhi and Gurugram massively.

“The preliminary estimate is that the INA to Vasant Kunj to Dwarka Expressway stretch would take half the current load off NH-48,” official sources said.

Delhi-Gurugram traffic volume

The volume of traffic from Delhi to Gurugram is approximately 5,00,000 vehicles per day, resulting in significant congestion, particularly during peak hours. The sheer volume overwhelms existing infrastructure, leading to speed as low as 20 kmph during rush hour on flyovers designed for much higher speeds.