Bhangel elevated road likely to become operational in Dec

The Bhangel elevated road, which will offer signal-free commute from the Sector 49 intersection to Phase II, once it becomes operational above the Dadri road that passes through Barola and Bhangel villages, is 65% complete and is expected to become operational by the end of December, Noida authority officials said on Sunday.

The 467 crore project, which was initially slated to be finished by December 2022, was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, said officials.

The delay in completing the 5.5-km-long roadis causing inconvenience to commuters and residents living along the Dadri road, which is dug up from the sector 49/48 intersection to sector 82 T-point because the elevated road is being built over it.

“The delay in completing the road has not only affected commuters but also impacted our business. Due to traffic diversion on Dadri stretch on which the elevated road is being built, people are discouraged from coming to the Bhangel market as the wide road has become a narrow lane with construction material lying over it,” said JK Maheshwari, a businessman.

Some residents said another reason for the delay was that the Noida authority had changed the design of the elevated road.

“The Noida authority tweaked the design and this delayed the construction work. Why didn’t the Noida authority make a final design before starting work at the site?” said Vipin Singh, a resident of sector 49.

However, Vishwas Tyagi, project engineer of the Noida authority, said the tweak in design has not affected the pace of work. “We tweaked the design so that instead of two loops, there will now be four loops towards sector 107 and sector 78 roads for entry and exit. This will benefit commuters,” said Tyagi.

The Uttar Pradesh Bridge corporation, the agency building this road, started work on the road on June 8, 2020.

“We have put the construction work on fast-track and it will open for public use by December 2023. We are putting the slabs on the road now and work will not get delayed further as it did during the Covid-19 lockdown,” he added.