A new bridge over the Yamuna? How it could ease traffic on Delhi’s Outer Ring Road

At present, the Delhi-Meerut Expressway and the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway terminate near Sarai Kale Khan — which provides connectivity between areas of Central Delhi, such as ITO, and South East and East Delhi — on the Ring Road. Sarai Kale Khan is also the largest station in the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor, and is set to emerge as a multi-modal transit hub once the corridor is fully functional.

Moreover, the DND-Sohna (Jewar) link of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is also expected to open soon. With these three key expressways converging in the area, traffic volume is expected to increase significantly. As a result, additional traffic is likely to spill over into Lutyens’ Delhi and other parts of the city, according to officials.

“In the wake of all this, the government is considering the construction of a new bridge. The location is not yet finalised. PWD will study the stretch from Old Wazirabad to Kalindi Kunj to check feasibility, traffic congestion, vehicle movement, challenges involved and identify a suitable location, focusing on improving Trans-Yamuna connectivity and addressing traffic congestion on the Ring Road and Outer Ring Road,” the PWD official said.

Another senior official who attended the meeting said, “Currently, there is a bridge starting at the Noida toll and ending on the DND side in Delhi. There is one at Akshardham, another between ITO and Geeta Colony, then the Old Iron Bridge—which has completed its life—and another near ISBT and the Signature Bridge. These bridges currently help provide connectivity from the Trans-Yamuna area to central parts of the city.”

The official added that the “possible locations are either near Old Iron Bridge as its replacement, or near the Signature Bridge”.

The Old Iron Bridge, also known as Loha Pul, is a double-decker bridge, with vehicular movement on the lower deck and trains on the upper deck. The Delhi–Shahdara section was constructed in 1866–67, and the structure is very old. Due to wear and tear, the Railways are constructing a parallel bridge for rail traffic. The Northern Railway also plans to shift rail traffic from the old bridge to the new one.

Presently, there are around 25 bridges over the Yamuna, including road and rail bridges.

A few years ago, the Delhi government had proposed a 13-km-long elevated bypass road from near the Signature Bridge to the Delhi–Noida–Direct (DND) Flyway through the Yamuna floodplain, aimed at providing a signal-free route for commuters from NCR cities in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

The proposed stretch, which was to connect the Outer Ring Road, Ring Road, Barapullah Flyover, ITO Flyover and NH-24 through an elevated loop, was planned to be constructed in two phases. However, the project was stuck at The Unified Traffic and Transportation Infrastructure (Planning & Engineering) Centre due to lack of approvals from multiple agencies and environmental clearance.