NEW DELHI: One of the most delayed infrastructure projects of the national capital — Ashram underpass — was finally but partially opened for the public on a trial basis on Tuesday. The inauguration is likely to take place during the month-end.
After three long years, the busiest traffic intersection on the Mathura road used by over 3 lakh vehicles on a daily basis saw smooth traffic with hardly any halts on the first day.
The construction of the 750-metre underpass project began in 2019 which led to major chaos for the commuters due to persistent jams stretching for a maximum of two hours. The shopkeepers while coming from the Lajpatnagar side also complained that the area had become over polluted due to heavy traffic jams on a daily basis starting at 7 am.
However, this newly built underpass will now provide a signal-free drive between Nizamuddin and Badarpur on the Mathura road at the Ashram intersection.
The foundation stone for the underpass was laid by CM Arvind Kejriwal on December 24, 2019 and it was initially expected to be completed by December 2020. However, the project reportedly missed approximately seven deadlines.
While one part of the underpass was opened for a trial run on Tuesday morning, the other part was opened during the evening, where the finishing work was on. As per the Public Works Department (PWD) officials, the underpass will remain closed during the night to finish the pending works.
“No date has been fixed yet as to when will the underpass will be fully functional but the Chief Minister is likely to officially inaugurate the underpass towards the month-end,” said a PWD official.
Meanwhile, the commuters who frequently use the Mathura road were still upset, stating that there is still no relief from the traffic snarls as the traffic will now be shifted to Nizamuddin East-West junction and further leading to jams at the Jangpura light point.
“More traffic will be added on the Nizamuddin junction near the police post where auto-rickshaws are parked on a one-way lane alongside illegal encroachments. The authorities need to work on removing these illegal encroachments and restrict the entry of autos and buses in order to aggravate the traffic on this route,” said one of the commuters.