Work on Gurugram sections of Dwarka e-way to be completed by June-end, says NHAI

The work on the Gurugram sections of the Dwarka Expressway will be completed by the end of June, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) officials said on Thursday, adding that the cloverleaf near the Kherki Daula toll plaza, which is a key structure that will connect Dwarka Expressway with Delhi-Jaipur highway and the Southern Peripheral Road, is ready and undergoing load testing currently.

Once completed, the Dwarka Expressway will ensure seamless commuting inside the city as well as between Gurugram and Delhi. It will also enable commuters to access the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway via Badshahpur, the officials said.

The 29km long Dwarka Expressway is being built at a cost of 9,000 crore and it will connect Shiv Murti on Delhi-Jaipur highway near Mahipalpur with Kherki Daula after passing through several residential sectors of Gurugram. The highway project was taken over by the NHAI in 2018 and work on it was started in 2019.

Nirman Jambulkar, project director, NHAI, said the work on the project is in the finishing stages and it will completed by the end of June.

“The work on cloverleaf has been completed and it now undergoing load testing. The work on package three (from Basai crossing to Bajghera on Delhi border) and package four (from Kherki Daula to Basai crossing) is also nearing completion and will be over by June,” he said.

Package three of Dwarka Expressway starts from Bajghera on Delhi-Haryana border and culminates near the Basai railway overbridge. It is 10.2km long and passes primarily through sectors 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 109, 110, 111, 112 and 113 in Gurugram.Package four is 8.77km long and starts from Basai rail overbridge and culminates at Delhi-Jaipur highway near Kherki Daula. It includes the cloverleaf that will connect the expressway with Delhi-Jaipur highway and the Southern Peripheral Road.

A senior official of L&T, the highway contractor for package three and four, said the work on package four is 99% complete while that on package three is 95% complete. “We have completed the work on cloverleaf and it is being load tested. The trumpet tower, which will connect the road to Manesar, is also ready. We have also opened the Bajghera underpass for traffic trials,” said the senior official, asking not to be named.A key vehicle underpass in package four, just ahead of Pataudi crossing, will also be opened to traffic in the next 15 days, said NHAI officials, adding that with this, work will be almost over on this stretch.The work on packages one and two of the expressway, which lie in Delhi, is likely to be completed by end-December, said the highway contractor.

“We have completed almost 90% work on the package two (Bajghera and Dwarka Urban Extension Road) and about 65% work on package one (from Dwarka to Mahipalpur). The work is on in full swing and we are confident of completing it this year,” said Rajendra Singh Rawat, project manager, J Kumar Infraprojects Ltd, the contractor for packages one and two.A senior official of J Kumar Infraprojects Ltd, however, said the work on package one required the shifting of utilities. Also, the construction work was taking place amid a high volume of traffic, which is impacting the pace of work. “It is likely that package one would be ready only by April 2024,” he said, asking not to be ready.

It may be noted that last month, Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari, during his visit to Urban Extension Road-2, said he will review the work on Dwarka Expressway in May. However, NHAI officials said they still have not got any directions regarding the visit.There is also speculation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the expressway once it is ready by June, but NHAI officials said they were not aware of any such proposal.Gurugram member of Parliament and Union minister of state Rao Inderjit Singh, who is pursuing the project, said he had met Gadkari last week. “I was informed that the transport minister will inspect the highway and the cloverleaf in May. We welcome him and Prime Minister Narender Modi to inaugurate the project as it would be a great honour for both Gurugram and Haryana,” he said.

Prakhar Sahay, a civic activist, who has been following the construction of this road since long, said while most of the work is complete on packages one and two, the authority needs to expedite the shifting of power lines near Pataudi crossing and also push the work on the railway overbridge. “This road will definitely reduce congestion and improve connectivity between Delhi and Gurugram, particularly on the national highway,” he said.Dwarka Expressway was envisaged by the Haryana government in 2006. The project, however, failed to take off due to land acquisition issues and legal tangles. Later, the Haryana government approached the Union transport ministry to take over the project.After the in-principle declaration of the expressway as a national highway in 2016, the NHAI took over the project and started work.