The Noida Authority six-lane underpass project has been in the pipeline for the past two and a half years and was built at a cost of Rs 59 crore, officials said.
A route of the underpass at Noida’s Sector 71 has become functional from Wednesday. Once all portions of the carriageway are made open for the public, the 780-metre route will provide much-needed relief to commuters between Noida, Ghaziabad and Greater Noida. The Noida Authority six-lane underpass project has been in the pipeline for the past two and a half years and was built at a cost of Rs 59 crore, officials said.
“This is an important route since a lot of traffic towards Greater Noida from Sector 50 converges in this area. With the underpass, at least half an hour of daily traffic jams can be avoided. Presently, we have opened one route as scaling and painting of walls are taking place. In a few days, all the lanes will be open to the public. There has been a delay in the implementation due to various reasons, primarily Covid. The traffic in the festive season will be streamlined,” said Mukesh Gaur, Senior Manager, Noida Authority.
According to officials, the particular stretch witnesses more than 1.5 lakh vehicles daily. The sectors impacted by the newly constructed route include Sector 50, 51, 60, 61 and the 7x sectors that have a high density of residential population.
The project was delayed by 10 months since it was originally due to be inaugurated in December last year. The officials claimed that the major part of the delay was because of Covid and the subsequent halt of construction. Further delay was due to the issue of positioning of a pillar, part of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation’s Blue Line extension, which was resolved earlier this year.
“We have been waiting desperately for the underpass. Right from the Sector 51 intersection, there is a jam on most days. We have to keep aside more than an hour daily for the office commute. Once the Parthala Chowk flyover is complete, it will be a relief for those who travel to Greater Noida as I do,” said Rakesh Singh, a resident of Sector 72.
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