Farmers Movement Archive

Delhi: L-shaped answer to ITO traffic woes

NEW DELHI: After several failed plans to decongest ITO, PWD and Delhi Traffic Police, along with the municipal corporation and Delhi Development Authority, are now planning to connect Pragati Maidan, Tilak Bridge and ITO with the help of a T-shaped foot overbridge to cater to at least 3,000 pedestrians that use the stretch every day. The structure would be made in two ‘L’ shapes and then connected together. An official said that since plans like the east-west corridor, U-turns, etc were not able to see the light of the day, they would try to push for finalising this plan and implementing it. The budget is yet to be decided. A senior PWD official said that as a part of this plan, Tilak Bridge railway station would be connected to Pragati Maidan and ITO Metro stations. Once the foot overbridge was made, commuters would be relieved of congestion. Earlier, a skywalk with international facilities and design standards was made to cater to pedestrians, but it didn’t find many takers. The left turn towards Ring Road from Vikas Marg would also be modified. A new parking space would be made near The Times of India building on Bahadurshah Zafar Marg. The other plan envisages decongesting ITO and connecting Anand Vihar in the east to Tikri border in the west through the east-west corridor. This corridor would be built from Anand Vihar to Swami Dayanand Marg, Shri Hanuman Marg, IP Depot and Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, before moving ahead. Before the foot overbridge was planned, traffic police had written to PWD to conduct a comprehensive study of the stretch and adjoining areas to assess the traffic volume and accident count so that tailor-made solutions could be found. PWD had been asked to assess vehicular volume at the intersection during normal as well as peak hours. Police had also asked for information on how traffic volume was affected during VIP movement, sports events, exhibitions and protests. The details of pedestrian count and parking requirements in nearby areas had also been sought as a part of the study.

The Times of India

2021-03-18

Delhi