The 19-km stretch of Dwarka Expressway in Haryana, from Delhi-Gurgaon border to Kherki Daula, is set to open for traffic by the first week of March, just days ahead of the announcement of Lok Sabha polls when the model code of conduct (MCC) will come into force. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to inaugurate the completed stretch and hold a roadshow as well.
It has learnt that the remaining portion of the expressway in Delhi (9.5 km) is estimated to be completed by June-end. Though the full benefit of the country’s first elevated urban expressway will be realised when the entire 28.5 km is opened for traffic, the inauguration of the corridor in Gurgaon will bring relief to the commuters.
Once the entire stretch is completed, 40-50% traffic is likely to be shifted to this new road from the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, which gets choked during morning and evening peak traffic hours.
The Dwarka Expressway, also known as the Northern Peripheral Road, starts from Shiv Murti on Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway and will connect Dwarka in Delhi to Gurgaon in Haryana.The road, mostly elevated, ends near Kherki Daula toll plaza. The expressway, developed with an investment of Rs 9,000 crore, will also have the longest and widest urban road tunnel in the country, measuring 3.6-km in length and 8 lanes.
Although, Dwarka Expressway was envisaged by the Haryana govt in 2006 to decongest Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway and as an additional link between the two cities, the project remained in shelf due to land acquisition issues. National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) took up the development of the expressway in 2016 after the Centre agreed to develop it as an NH.
The state-of-art highway project will be access-controlled with designated entry points on service roads to avoid traffic congestion. It has been designed as an 8- lane grade-separated expressway, with provision of minimum 3-lane service roads on both sides. It also has four multi-level interchanges and cross-road underpasses at major junctions.
“Learnings from Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway have been utilised in the design of Dwarka Expressway. These include fully access- controlled corridor, three level grade segregation at major junctions, complete segregation of local traffic and thorough traffic. The expressway will provide direct access to the upcoming India International Convention Centre in Sector 25 in Dwarka,” said an NHAI official.