Gurgaon: Ambience Mall U-turn underpass on Delhi-Gurgaon expressway yet another missed time limit. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) was expected to open it for commuters on Friday. Now, NHAI officials have said that it will be completed within this month.
The latest deadline was announced by Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari during his visit to Gurgaon last month. Speaking after the inspection of Work Gadkari had said that the underpass will be opened on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway October 15 and “shall provide relief to the people both in Delhi and Haryana”.
“There have been some delays, and we are trying to complete the work as soon as possible. There is no major change in the time frame. The underpass will be completed within October,” said an NHAI official.
“A portion of the road remains paved, as well as some miscellaneous work such as lighting. Also, there has been a slight problem with labor lately because of the festive season. We are working on the underpass and it will be completed in the next few days.
Meanwhile, passengers expressed doubts about the revised deadline. “We have heard many times that the underpass will be opened soon, or the date for its completion has been fixed. I have no faith in the time limit set by NHAI or their claims,” said Ambience Island resident Partha Chatterjee, who has to cross the Gurgaon-Delhi border daily to reach his office in Cyber City.
Work on the underpass started in January 2019. The structure was part of a wider project to decongest the expressway, as well as a U-turn flyover being built at Shankar Chowk. The flyover was opened for passengers in November last year.
The NHAI had initially set a deadline of 18 months to complete the project, but officials said the work was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent labor shortage, barring construction due to high pollution levels. – Frequent restrictions, waterlogging due to heavy rainfall, and delays in relocating toll gates and other utilities.
The latest deadline was announced by Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari during his visit to Gurgaon last month. Speaking after the inspection of Work Gadkari had said that the underpass will be opened on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway October 15 and “shall provide relief to the people both in Delhi and Haryana”.
“There have been some delays, and we are trying to complete the work as soon as possible. There is no major change in the time frame. The underpass will be completed within October,” said an NHAI official.
“A portion of the road remains paved, as well as some miscellaneous work such as lighting. Also, there has been a slight problem with labor lately because of the festive season. We are working on the underpass and it will be completed in the next few days.
Meanwhile, passengers expressed doubts about the revised deadline. “We have heard many times that the underpass will be opened soon, or the date for its completion has been fixed. I have no faith in the time limit set by NHAI or their claims,” said Ambience Island resident Partha Chatterjee, who has to cross the Gurgaon-Delhi border daily to reach his office in Cyber City.
Work on the underpass started in January 2019. The structure was part of a wider project to decongest the expressway, as well as a U-turn flyover being built at Shankar Chowk. The flyover was opened for passengers in November last year.
The NHAI had initially set a deadline of 18 months to complete the project, but officials said the work was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent labor shortage, barring construction due to high pollution levels. – Frequent restrictions, waterlogging due to heavy rainfall, and delays in relocating toll gates and other utilities.
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