CHANDIGARH: The denizens of the national capital can expect to breathe easier this Diwali, with the 83-kilometre stretch of the Western Peripheral Expressway between Manesar and Kundli likely to open by October 31, enabling about 50,000 heavy vehicles to bypass Delhi every day, resulting in a discernible drop in pollution levels in the city.
Sources in the Haryana government said that with the opening of this part of the expressway, air pollution levels in Delhi were likely to drop by 30 per cent. The expressway connects four National Highways: NH 1 near Kundli, NH 10 near Bahadurgarh, NH 8 at Manesar, and NH 2 near Palwal, besides five state highways. Delhi has nine entry points from the west and south. A 54-km stretch of the expressway, from Manesar to Palwal, has already been thrown open.
Conceived in 2002, when the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee was Prime Minister, the project was originally scheduled to be completed in July 2009. It was delayed due to litigation and a host of other factors.
The six-lane Kundli-Manesar stretch is likely to be completed four months ahead of its deadline of February 2019. Work on this section, which will cost `1,915 crore, was awarded to Essel Infraprojects Limited on August 24, 2016.
This stretch will have seven toll plazas, at Abbaspur and Pipli villages in Sonipat district, Mandhoti and Badli villages in Jhajjar district, and at Sultanpur, Patli-Hazipur and Mokalwas/Fazliwas villages in Gurugram.
The six lanes will be equipped with LED and solar panel lighting, rainwater harvesting facilities every 500 metres on both sides, and fountains every ten metres. It has chain link fencing to prevent unwanted entry and exit, besides metal crash barriers to enhance the safety of drivers. Some 7 lakh tonnes of cement and 65,000 tonnes of steel has been used in its construction, said sources.
A senior state government official said, “To decongest traffic, this 135-km KMP Expressway across Kundli, Manesar and Palwal, abutting Delhi on three sides, has been developed. A global economic corridor is proposed to be developed alongside this expressway.”
“A mass rapid transit system for the 82 km between Gurugram, Manesar and Bawal, a joint venture between the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation and Haryana State Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation will also be implemented in future. A detailed project report has been prepared by AECOM, a US-based company, and the estimated cost of the project is `17,328 crore.
The project is likely to be funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency,” he said.