GDA expedites work for second elevated road

Ghaziabad: With a view to curb the menace of traffic jams in the heart of the city, the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) has expedited work on the second elevated road proposed between Ghanta Ghar and Bhatia Mor.

A senior GDA official said that construction work of the second elevated road of the city is expected to start by October.

According to the official, the four-lane 2.3 km elevated road will be built on a single pillar model and the GDA will bear the expenditure of constructing the road. Recently, the authority also changed the proposed design of the project to decongest the spot, which is narrow and witness traffic jams during busy hours.

"Earlier, the project was proposed to be built at a cost of Rs 253 crore. But with modification in the design, the average cost of the project has been increased by Rs 72 crore, and has now become Rs 325 crore. The decision to change the design has been taken keeping in mind that it would have created a massive jam at Ghanta Ghar in the future," said VN Singh, Chief Engineer, GDA.

As per the new model, the elevated road will have split ends and the lane leading to Bhatia Mor will be constructed 150 m away from Ghanta Ghar. A similar a design will be followed for the lane constructed down. The Authority has also expedited the construction work and is now in the process to select agencies to prepare the detailed project report (DPR).

"We have invited companies to present their reports and will select one for preparing the DPR. The final expenditure will be clear once the DPR is ready. We are also working hard to complete the financial and technical bids of the project and make them ready by September so that the work on the road may start from October this year. Once operational, the elevated road will provide a seamless flow of traffic to more than three lakh commuters daily," added Singh.