Long-wait in traffic snarls over as Ashram Chowk Underpass thrown open for public use

Huge relief as Sisodia dedicates Ashram Chowk Underpass for public use

Huge relief to the people of Delhi as the Delhi government cleared Ashram’s age-old bottleneck.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia inaugurated the Ashram Chowk Underpass on Sunday amidst the gathering of local residents, including several Okhla AAP leaders and Councillor Wajid Khan. AAP leader Mahmood Ahmed who was present on the spot during the inauguration event said it is a good move and will bring relief to Okhla residents as daily many among them use this route to go to offices.

The underpass is a landmark step towards decongesting the state’s roads and tackling the issue of pollution in the national capital, he said.

While addressing the residents of the underpass and appreciating the efforts of PWD engineers for constructing the underpass in a high volume traffic movement area, Sisodia said: “This underpass is an example of engineering excellence. Access to this underpass will not only save the time of the commuters but will also protect the environment. With the usage of this sustainable underpass, everyday 1,536 liters of diesel or petrol will be saved and 3.6 tonnes of carbon dioxide emission will be reduced in the area per day.”

The Deputy CM said it was a tough task for engineers to construct an underpass in a high volume traffic area which also involved shifting of various utilities but the task was completed on time and the underpass was opened for commuters on March 22, even before the inauguration by any dignitary. Also, no shops or residential areas in the vicinity of the underpass were affected during the construction of this underpass, he said.

Sisodia said the Kejriwal government is determined to provide hassle free commute and beautiful roads to the residents of Delhi, so that every Delhi can feel proud of the city.

“This underpass has been built after many hurdles and now it will provide a major relief to 2-3 lakh commuters of Delhi everyday and will smoothen the traffic in adjoining areas as well. The underpass is 410 meters long and has been built at the cost of Rs 77.92 crores. This underpass is an example of the fact that the issue of pollution can be tackled by increasing the capacity of the roads,” he said.

Ashram Chowk is one of the most important road junctions in Delhi. The site has a history of seeing long congestions because of which the government decided to construct an underpass to clear the bottleneck, he said.

The four lane underpass will decongest the traffic between Faridabad and southern Delhi and also the Ring Road traffic from eastern circle of Delhi and Noida to Nizamuddin Railway station.

This will further make the traffic smooth in the adjoining areas such as Bhogal, Jangpura, Nizzamuddin, New Friends Colony, Maharani Bagh and Lajpat Nagar.

Commuters have taken a sigh of relief after seeing the underpass open to traffic as it will not only help them save time but also cause huge savings of fuel, he said.

Salient features

410 meters long, 4-lane underpass

Proper system to ensure no waterlogging in monsoons through carriage-way on either side  with 2 tanks of 1.5 lakh liters capacity

The underpass is covered from above

40 meter box portion – road hump design to prevent rain water from entering the road underpass

Arrangement of LED street light for better & sustainable lighting in the underpass

What will be the benefits of Ashram Chowk Underpass

Every day 2-3 lakh people will get relief from traffic

Savings of 1536 liters of fuel per day

3.6 tonnes of carbon dioxide gas emissions will be reduced

There will be a saving of about 933 working days daily by overcoming the congestion