Respite for commuters in store, work on NH-24 underpass begins

NOIDA: Respite is in store for thousands of commuters commuting between Noida, Delhi and Ghaziabad. Noida Authority has restarted construction on an Rs 112 crore underpass on the busy NH-24 underpass in an effort to de-congest and streamline traffic movement in the area. To cause minimum inconvenience to commuters at the crossing, ‘box pushing’ technology is being used for the construction. Work on the underpass had been stalled since the last six months.

As per officials, the construction of a vehicle under pass below live traffic/busy roads is a challenging task. The method used for this construction is called ‘Box Pushing’ or ‘Push Launching’. A RCC box culvert is sequentially pushed from one side of embankment towards the other side, slowly, in step-by-step process. The girder which passes below the existing road is cast in the form of small segments at the site itself. The alignment of the PUP is kept perpendicular to the traffic above, officials explained.

In March 2014, Noida Authority commenced construction on the underpass to streamline traffic movement. Located in the Sector 62 area, which cuts NH-24 perpendicularly near Model Town crossing, widening work by an extra lane measuring 3.5 meters on both carriageways on the Noida side was also started about ten months ago. Once complete the 4-km stretch is expected to benefit over 100,000 commuters who use the stretch every day. The project is expected to be complete by August 2016.

Currently, traffic on either side of the NH-24 that moves in two lanes each, faces regular snarls. The situation gets worse when the traffic coming from Vijay Nagar, Ghaziabad side merges at the CISF cut with the traffic coming from Indirapuram. This merger of traffic leads to constant jam on the 150m-long stretch between the CISF cut and Model Town crossing. So, even those commuters who require to enter Noida via the free left turn at Sector 63 near the Model town crossing get stuck in jams.