Elevated road over Ring Rd? PWD to check its feasibility

The Delhi government is considering an ambitious ₹7,000-8,000 crore, 80-km elevated corridor above the existing Ring Road to tackle worsening traffic congestion on the Capital's arterial routes.

- Snehil Sinha

NEW DELHI:

But experts who heard of what appears to be a very nascent plan said such a move could instead create construction chaos and fail to address the root causes of Delhi's traffic woes that are better addressed by improved public transport.

Public Works Department (PWD) minister Parvesh Verma has directed officials to conduct a feasibility study for the project, which would create a third layer of road infrastructure above current ground-level roads, flyovers and Metro lines.

"Delhi's road network has reached its limit and we are working on possible solutions to the traffic issues," Verma told HT. "We are planning an uninterrupted, signal-free, elevated corridor that will allow faster cross-city travel and reduce load on existing roads."

The proposed elevated road network—at present merely an idea—would span the entire 55-kilometer Ring Road and include extensions towards Gurugram, Indira Gandhi International Airport and Noida.

The project would be executed in multiple phases, depending on technical and financial viability.

According to PWD officials, the elevated structure would rise 15-20 meters above existing infrastructure.