Grap delays Delhi to Baghpat stretch of Dehradun highway
The under-construction six-lane highway from Delhi’s Akshardham to Dehradun in Uttarakhand is 180km long and phase 1 of the highway, from Akshardham to Baghpat’s Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE) interchange, will be ready only by mid-May, says NHAI
The wait for the opening of phase 1 of Delhi-Saharanpur highway just got longer with officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) saying on Tuesday that the construction was delayed by about one-and-half months owing to restrictions on construction activities under the graded response action plan (Grap) to control air pollution.
The under-construction six-lane highway from Delhi’s Akshardham to Dehradun in Uttarakhand is 180km long and phase 1 of the highway, from Akshardham to Baghpat’s Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE) interchange, which spans about 31.6km, will be the first section to open. This section was to be ready by March 2024, but NHAI said it is now likely to be ready by mid-May.
“There are different works which are ongoing for phase 1 stretch from Akshardham to Baghpat. This stretch was likely to open by March 2024. However, due to prevalence of Grap, construction has been delayed and the phase is likely to be ready by mid-May,” said an NHAI official attached to the project, asking not to be named.
The Grap mandates provision of different restrictions across Delhi-NCR in order to improve air quality when pollution levels reach different severity levels. The measures include banning of commercial vehicles, restriction on construction activities, among other measures.
The NHAI officials said that different works such as blacktopping of road stretches, putting up extension joints on flyover, crash barriers and installation of basic infrastructure, are pending.
The first phase comprises two packages – package 1 from Akshardham to Khekra in Baghpat (14.75km) and package 2 from Khekra to EPE interchange in Baghpat (16.45km).
The first phase will also pass through Ghaziabad’s congested Loni town, which witnesses heavy traffic movement to Saharanpur.
“Package 1 is being built at a cost of about ₹1,100 crore while package 2 is getting constructed at a cost of ₹1,300 crore. Once complete, phase 1 of the highway will give commuters direct connectivity between Delhi and Baghpat and also the Eastern Peripheral Expressway,” the NHAI official quoted above said.
According to NHAI officials, phase 1 of the highway project has an elevated section of about 18km that passes through densely populated areas of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. They said the stretch in Delhi has about 6km long while the remaining 12.5km will fall in Uttar Pradesh.