Delhi's ageing flyovers in need of repairs

With the last major infrastructure push coming in the 2000s, in the run-up to Commonwealth Games of 2010, flyovers are now in need of refurbishment for safe commutes

- Paras Singh

Booming traffic footfall in the Capital over the past half-century has led to several traffic innovations, as increased vehicle ownership from the 1980s has kept Delhi's administrators on their toes. But none of them has had the impact as one key emergence—the flyover.

Under the Sheila Dikshit administration in the 2000s, the run-up to the CWG sparked a massive investment in transport infrastructure, including roads, flyovers, and Metro expansion.

According to Public Works Department data, more than 47 flyovers and bridges were constructed in this period. These include flyovers at Moti Nagar (2005), Punjabi Bagh (2001) and Punjabi Bagh Club (2005), Raja Garden (2001), Africa Avenue (2001), Savitri (2001), Nehru Place (2001), Andrews Ganj (2002), AIIMS (2003), Britannia Chowk (2004), Madhuban Chowk (2005), Mukarba Chowk (2008) and Wazirpur (2005).

But, while flyovers have mushroomed across the Capital and more are being envisioned, time waits for no one.

The aged flyover network of the Capital needs upkeep, making its intermittent closures unavoidable. Of little relief to already harrowing commutes on many stretches, officials say comprehensive repairs of these structures are long overdue. Their closures, however, are set to wreak havoc on an already overburdened road network.

While the previous government had already cleared the repair of flyovers at Shahdara, Loni Road, Nangloi, Chirag Delhi, Okhla, Janak Setu and Pul Mithai, a set of 17 other flyovers, a majority of which were constructed in the early 2000s, is set for repairs in the near future.

Last week, the much-delayed repair of the Sarita Vihar flyover, which was built in 2001, also started.

A senior official of the Public Works Department (PWD) said: “Some of these flyovers are now decades old and have not seen any major repair work since construction. It is a cyclical process, and we have undertaken repairs of many flyovers over the last few years.”