NHAI speeds up Delhi-Saharanpur NH project

Construction work on NH-709B — a six-lane project passing through several areas of East and Northeast Delhi and involving ₹1,375.56 crore investment will begin shortly. The 155-km-long corridor will start from Akshardham Mandir in Delhi and end at Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh. The highway will reduce travel time to UP districts and ease traffic flow in Northeast Delhi areas such as Pushta Road, New Usmanpur, Sonia Vihar Extension, Khajuri Khas, West Karawal Nagar, and Bhajanpura. The project has already been awarded after calling fresh tender last month and is destined to be completed by 2023. There is also a plan to build an AIIMS-like hospital on the stretch so that people can cut short travel time and benefit from the facility. The new corridor is planned around the Noida Link Road and Marginal Bund Road (Pushta Road) in Delhi and Baghpat Road in UP. In fact, Pushta Road in Northeast Delhi is one of the most congested corridors in the capital as it links Delhi with the Uttar Pradesh border and the Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE). The corridor has a large number of unauthorized colonies and slum clusters on both sides of the road, as such, there is a heavy flow of vehicles, causing heavy and routine traffic jams. The portion in Delhi — Akshardham-Geeta Colony-Shastri Park-Khajuri Khas-Delhi-UP border — is 14.75-km-long and includes a 7-km elevated stretch.