Part of Phase-III of Barapullah flyover project nears completion, to be opened soon.

Seamless connectivity to south Delhi may remain a distant dream for commuters beginning their journey from Mayur Vihar but partial respite is in order for drivers heading from Noida border till Akshardham temple.

The Public Works Department (PWD) is giving finishing touches to an 800-metre-long flyover, which is a crucial component of the Barapullah Phase III project.

It will provide a signal-free passage between Mayur Vihar and Akshardham temple by early 2020. The project was supposed to be completed by October 2017.

A dispute related to the acquisition of land on the Yamuna floodplains, however, continues to stall the extension of the project till Sarai Kale Khan.

“We have asked the company executing the construction of the project for a tentative date by when finishing touches on the flyover will be completed. We have been assured that the process will take two to three days at the most,” said a government source.

“After final touches and completion of related modalities, the project should be ready to be thrown open to the public within 15 days and may be inaugurated later this month,” the source said, adding that the flyover will translate into immediate respite for commuters who currently confront congestion at a point below Mayur Vihar Extension metro station.

The flyover will allow commuters to travel signal-free from Noida border to Akshardham within 15 to 20 minutes. By segregating traffic headed towards NH-24 below it, the flyover will lead to relatively less congestion during peak commuting time, said the source. Unfortunately, the government has not yet been able to prevail upon the farmers who own around 10 acres of land on the Yamuna floodplains where three pillars needed for extension of the flyover to Sarai Kale Khan are required to be constructed, the source added.

These pillars, which are meant to support around 3.5-km of the 10-km-long flyover being constructed at a cost of Rs. 964 crore between Mayur Vihar and Sarai Kale Khan, happen to fall on an estimated eight-acre swathe of private land, whose owners were demanding Rs. 7 crore per acre from the Delhi government as compensation.

The Barapullah corridor includes four separate phases.

It is intended as a signal-free corridor dedicated to commuters travelling between east Delhi and Indira Gandhi International Airport with a ripple effect on easing congestion across the city.

THE HINDU