CM opens 3rd phase of elevated road project

A 3.8 km-long elevated corridor on Outer Ring Road from Madhuban Chowk to Mukarba Chowk, part of the signal-free Vikaspuri-Wazirabad project in Delhi, was on Sunday thrown open to the public.

“This corridor and the rest of the project, once completed, will save a lot of time for people of Delhi especially in this busy area where traffic snarls are so common,” chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said while inaugurating the facility.

The six-lane stretch, built for Rs 120 crore less than the sanctioned amount, is part of the third phase of the over 23 km-long Vikaspuri-Wazirabad signal-free elevated corridor in outer Delhi that seeks to decongest the national capital and reduce travel time drastically.

“We thank the Sheila Dikshit government for starting this project but our PWD engineers and officials must be applauded and rewarded for carrying out this project in lesser time and for bringing down the construction cost by Rs 120 crore,” Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal added.

The third phase of the project traverses through busy areas like Prashant Vihar T-junction, Shalimar Bagh crossing and Badli T-junction, and commuters expressed happiness over the opening of the much-awaited flyover.

The sanctioned cost of the third phase was over Rs 420 crore, but the Delhi government said it has completed this section of the project for Rs 300 crore only.

“We have already decided the money saved from this would be used for providing free medicines to patients in our hospitals by waiving the user charge from February 1,” he said.

Delhi home minister Satyender Jain, who was also present at the site, had earlier claimed the Delhi government has “saved Rs 350 crore” in construction of the three flyovers.

The second phase of the Vikaspuri-Wazirabad project, a 3.9 km-long stretch from Mangolpuri to Madhuban Chowk, was inaugurated on January 17.