Narela Flyover To Bring Relief To Residents Of North Delhi

To overcome traffic woes in some of the most congested stretches of the national capital, the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs approved funding of Rs 643.58 crore through the Urban Development Fund for six projects, including construction of flyovers and underpasses at Mahipalpur, ITO, ISBT, Rani Jhansi Road and Narela. Recently, Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri laid the foundation stone of the flyover-cum-railway-over-bridge at Narela in the presence of Delhi's Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal.

The proposed infrastructure on the Urban Extension Road-1(UER1) is expected to provide the vital missing link and create connectivity on either side of the UER-1, thereby providing relief to lakhs of people by easing traffic congestion and making traffic smoother. It will also provide traffic safety near the railway crossing. Here are few other features that make the Narela flyover important:

Improved connectivity

The proposed site for construction has been mooted as one of the busiest points, which see frequent shutdowns of traffic due to the closing of the level crossing on the busy Delhi-Karnal Railway line and the presence of Anaj Mandi as well as the FCI godowns near the railway crossing. The UER-1, under construction at present, has already been completed from the National Highway-1 to Bawana except for the stretch near the FCI godowns and the railway line.

“To give relief to commuters from traffic rush, the government is taking several measures for decongestion and the construction of this flyover is part of it. This flyover will cater to around 16 lakh commuters daily,” said Puri while addressing the media.

Timeline for completion

The flyover project is planned for completion in April 2019. When completed, this will be the widest flyover in Delhi with a width of 51 metres. It will have six-lane carriageway, two bus lanes for the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor and provision of footpath and cycle tracks, multi-utility zone for services. The cost of the project is Rs 437.21 crore, out of which assistance of 80 per cent has been approved from the Union Development Fund (UDF) and rest will be made by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).

Areas that will benefit

The area will majorly benefit the traffic moving towards the Bawana Industrial Area from the NH-1. Apart from this, commuters from Rohini who need to hit the NH-1 will benefit from this development. Since the specific stretch remains congested for almost all part of the day, the construction of flyover will ease the traffic and would make commuting smooth for lakh of residents taking this route. While addressing the media, Puri also said that  Delhi's population was increasing at a rate of 2.5 per cent per annum, while the rise in vehicles was five per cent per annum. Once the flyover is constructed it will provide relief to the areas of Rohini and Narela.