Chirag Delhi flyover repairs over soon, may open April 26

The ongoing repair work on the Chirag Delhi flyover, a key intersection on Delhi’s arterial Outer Ring Road, is likely to be completed by April 26, the Public Works Department (PWD) officials associated with the project said on Wednesday.

Repairs on the flyover began on March 12, with PWD announcing a 50-day schedule to repair expansion joints on the flyover— 25 days for each carriageway. At first, the Nehru Place to IIT-Delhi carriageway was closed, and on March 31, work shifted to the opposite carriageway. However, in this case, one lane was left open for light vehicles, in an attempt to avert a repeat of the massive traffic snarls that plagued the intersection when the first carriageway was shut.

PWD officials said structural repairs on the flyover have been completed, and the “curing” of the concrete — a process to control moisture loss during the hydration of cement — is expected to take about six days, following which, all lanes of the flyover may be thrown open on April 26.

“We have placed the expansion joints in the last lane and repair work is over. We will start curing work from Thursday. This is an important process where we let water stand on the repaired area for a few days to provide strength to the concrete. This will take about five-six days and we should be able to make the flyover fully functional by April 26,” said a PWD official, declining to be named.

Officials said the April 26 date would mean that the agency beats the May 1 deadline for reopening the flyover by four days.

The Delhi Police said an early completion of the repair works would come as a relief to commuters. “I have visited the flyover and the work is in its completion stage. PWD has informed us that the work will be completed soon but we have not been given any dates yet. It will be a great traffic relief if the work is completed earlier,” said SS Yadav, special commissioner of police (traffic).

Jasjit Singh, from the Panchsheel Enclave RWA, said, “This stretch has become a sore point in our lives for every little commute since the repair work started. People are tired of sitting in traffic jams. The sooner the flyover becomes functional, the better it is for us.”

However, the relief to commuters could be short-lived — PWD is also planning to initiate repairs on the Savitri Cinema flyover, around 200m from the Chirag Delhi facility, work on which could start within a few months, though not likely till G20 Summit-related meetings in the Capital end.

PWD is looking at expanding the width of the Savitri Cinema flyover by either adding another lane, or by constructing another flyover parallel to the existing one.

“This is still at a planning stage, and we have opened tender for it, though the contractor has still not been selected. It will take a few months before this work can be started,” said the PWD official.

After work on the Chirag Delhi flyover started, PWD minister Atishi conducted a site inspection and asked officials to finish the repairs within 30 days. However, she had also asked that only one lane on each carriageway be closed at a time, which, officials said, led to delays in completing the work.

Experts said that better planning could have improved the timelines without hampering the repair work. S Velmurugan, chief scientist and head of the traffic engineering and safety division at the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), said the timetable could have been shortened if more manpower was put in.