NEW DELHI: Commuters travelling to east Delhi, Noida and Ghaziabad from central Delhi and vice versa will now be able to use the newly opened Pragati Maidan tunnel as the authorities have extended the timeframe by two hours each in the morning and evening for motorists to use the facility.
According to PWD officials, the vehicular movement in the newly opened tunnel has now been allowed between 6 am and 10 pm. Earlier, this tunnel was opened for traffic from 8 am to 8 pm. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on June 19 inaugurated the city’s first 1.3-km long tunnel and five underpasses as part of the Pragati Maidan Integrated Transit Corridor Project that aims to ease connectivity between central Delhi with the eastern part of the city and satellite towns of Noida and Ghaziabad.
Being touted as Delhi’s first tunnel, the 1.3-km-long facility has been built by the Public Works Department (PWD) at an expenditure of `920 crore as part of Pragati Maidan Integrated Transit Corridor Project. The official said that the tunnel will reduce travel time by 10-15 minutes between central and east Delhi and satellite towns of Noida and Ghaziabad.
The tunnel starts near the National Sports Complex of India (NSCI) on Purana Qila Road and passes underneath the redeveloped Pragati Maidan to culminate at the Ring Road near Pragati Power station.
The tunnel allows commuters travelling to India Gate and other central Delhi areas from east Delhi, Noida and Ghaziabad to ditch traffic snarls at ITO, Mathura Road, Ring Road and Bhairon Marg.