NEW DELHI: After missing several deadlines, the much-awaited Ashram underpass in Southeast Delhi will finally open for the public on March 22, said Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Monday.
It will bring major relief to the commuters travelling on this route which used to remain choked for hours due to heavy traffic. The work on the Ashram Marg started in 2019 but was delayed due to the Covid and lockdown.
Sisodia who also holds the Public Works Department (PWD) portfolio along with senior department officials inspected the construction work on Monday. Sisodia said that last year, Ashram underpass construction had to be stopped several times due to Covid induced lockdown. This further delayed the completion but now the work has resumed and is in its final stage.
He said that from March 22, this underpass would be open for traffic, which will benefit commuters. “Covid delayed the completion of the underpass but now, the construction work has resumed and is in its final stage. From March 22, this underpass would be opened for traffic, which will benefit lakhs of people daily,” the minister said.
Sisodia also reviewed the construction works of Ashram flyover and the underpass between Pragati Maidan to Nizamuddin and directed the officials concerned to complete the work expeditiously so that
the public can use these roads at the earliest. The minister said that lakhs of people use these routes to commute daily to ITO, Ring Road, Central Secretariat, India Gate, and Central Delhi.
Keeping this in mind, the construction work will be completed soon. He informed that the construction work of the Ashram flyover will be completed by August and the Pragati Maidan underpass being built in collaboration with the city government and Central government will be completed by May, this year.
According to data provided by the traffic police, around 2.5 lakh to 3 lakh vehicles cross the Ashram intersection every day during peak traffic hours. PWD officials said the deadline was first extended to March 2021, further pushed to June 30, 2021 and then to September 2021. It was again extended to December 2020 and then to March 2022. The estimated cost of the construction project is Rs 78 crore, the officials said.
Rs 78 cr project missed several deadlines
Public Works Department (PWD) officials said the deadline for the construction of Ashram Underpass was first extended to March 2021, which was further pushed to June 30, 2021 and then to September 2021. It was again extended to December 2020 and now the final deadline is March 2022. The estimated cost of the construction project is Rs 78 crore, the PWD officials said