Delhi: Pragati Maidan tunnel and underpass work delayed, new deadline for project is April-end

“The civil work of the tunnel has been completed and the electrical work is going on, which will near completion in 2-3 weeks. Out of the six underpasses, three have been fully completed, and 96 per cent of work has been executed on two. The underpass at Ring Road Bhairon Marg intersection which comes beneath the railway line, is falling behind due to time constraints,” said a senior government official.

Stating that even though the Indian railways have been very supportive and cooperative, he added, “The work can only be carried out when trains are not running on the track. Also, box machines are pushed using hydraulic power to construct the structure, and this method cannot be done with a train running on top. Sometimes, we get two to three hours a day since it is only possible at night. In spite of these limitations, the entire stretch will be inaugurated for public use by April-end.”

Though the delay has been worrisome, artwork, installation of exhaust fans, CCTVs and lighting have been completed. “Pragati Maidan tunnel will be a unique stretch and it is an engineering marvel. The 1.36-km long tunnel will be a six-lane, three-lane carriageway on both sides and it will connect, ease traffic and provide signal-free travel from Purana Qila road to Ring Road. Moreover, the tunnel will also provide direct connectivity to Pragati Maidan parking,” said L C Goyal, Chairman and Managing Director, ITPO.

The tunnel will have two control rooms at the entry and exit and it will monitor the traffic movement on this stretch through CCTVs. Apart from this, an 80-metre-long and five-metre wide emergency lane is also being developed on the tunnel to immediately tow the vehicles that break down.

“Since there is space beside the three-lane road near the Rajnagar section, we created an emergency lane, which will be used to immediately tow and escort the vehicle out from the tunnel to avoid traffic snarls. The vehicles will be removed mechanically,” said the official.

The tunnel will go beneath the Pragati Maidan starting from Purana Qila near the Sports Club of India to Ring Road near Pragati power station. It will decongest the road at Pragati Maidan, ITO junction, India Gate and the Supreme Court. There will be six underpasses, of which five are on the Mathura Road at Sher Shah Suri road, DPS School near Sundar Nagar, Supreme Court, Science Center, Pragati Maidan stretch, and one on Ring Road, which will go beneath the railway line and connect Bhairon Marg.

The Pragati Maidan Integrated Corridor Redevelopment Project is expected to ease traffic jams for 1 lakh commuters.

“Work was delayed due to several reasons from pandemic-induced lockdown to ban on construction activities, logistics and labour problems,” said Goyal. The work on the six-lane tunnel and six underpasses started in 2017 and was scheduled to be completed by March 2019. It has missed about six deadlines.