[ad_1]
Chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who heads the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), told officials at a meeting last Saturday that the SPR redevelopment project needs to be altered. The decision was taken after questions were raised about the requirement for building three flyovers between Vatika Chowk and NH-8, an SPR stretch that caters to low traffic volume.
Last year, administrative approval was granted to the proposal to upgrade a 14km SPR stretch between Ghata T-point to NH-8 for Rs 845.5 crore. This included construction of eight flyovers, and six main carriageways with service roads on each side.
A GMDA official told TOI on Monday that the authority will recall the tender for the project and modify the design. In consideration is also the possibility of building an elevated road for direct connectivity between the Sohna Elevated Road (part of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway project) and Central Peripheral Road (part of the Dwarka Expressway project).
SPR crosses Delhi-Mumbai Expressway and concludes at the starting of CPR.
“While there was no issue with the proposal to construct five flyovers between Ghata village to Vatika Chowk in the first phase of the project, there was some reservation over the three flyovers planned for the second phase between Vatika Chowk and NH-8. We will rework the second phase. There was a suggestion to replan a design to connect the Dwarka Expressway and the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway with an elevated road-like structure,” the GMDA official said.
For now, the official said, the authority will at least repair the road. “Currently, there is no point in undertaking special repairs. But we will repair the stretch, so the road can remain motorable at least,” the official said.
The redevelopment of SPR, one of the busiest routes in the city, goes back to 2019.
Since then, the parameters of the project have been changed eight times. Underpasses have been added, then deleted to make way for flyovers. Costs have gone up, and down, and the scope of the revamp has changed erratically to include other infrastructural projects too.
It was in March 2019 that the Authority first proposed repairing the SPR for Rs 132.5 crore. The plan that they eventually approved that year was to build flyovers and underpasses for Rs 281.8 crore.
A year later, the redevelopment plan was extended from Vatika Chowk to Kherki Daula as traffic in the area was rapidly increasing.
By January 2021, this too was scrapped. And this year saw three more alterations.
On Monday, residents blamed the city authorities for sitting on the redevelopment plan for years. “I don’t know what it will take for GMDA to have mercy on commuters. It is a hassle to commute on this pathetic road. We pay all sorts of taxes, and still, we don’t get basic amenities,” said Tarun Verma, a resident of Sector 78.
Shweta Singh, who lives in Sector 69, said SPR is full of craters and potholes.
“It is difficult to commute on the road. It has also increased the amount we spend on vehicle maintenance because of the wear-and-tear of driving on SPR. Now, I also suffer from backache because of the bumpy rides that I have no option but to endure,” she said.
[ad_2]
Source link