GMDA gets approval for clover leaf at Vatika Chowk
GMDA officials said that the clover leaf structure at Vatika Chowk and elevated SPR project will help in integrating the Sohna elevated road, Dwarka expressway and NH 48 and facilitate smooth movement of traffic
Gurugram: The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) has received in-principle approval to build a clover-leaf structure at Vatika Chowk, which will connect the Sohna elevated road with a proposed elevated stretch on the Southern Peripheral Road. The proposed stretch will come up between Vatika Chowk and the existing Dwarka expressway clover leaf on NH48, officials aware of the matter said.
GMDA officials said that the clover leaf structure at Vatika Chowk and elevated SPR project will help in integrating the Sohna elevated road, Dwarka expressway and NH 48 and facilitate smooth movement of traffic.
Currently, vehicles from the Dwarka expressway and the Delhi-Gurgaon highway use the clover leaf at NH48 to move towards SPR at the surface level to reach Vatika Chowk on Sohna Road. Following which they have to take the heavily congested service lanes of Sohna Road and drive few kilometres upto Subash Chowk to access the Sohna elevated road.
A meeting to discuss various issues related to the expressways in Gurugram was held between senior GMDA and NHAI officials at the NHAI headquarters on Monday, in which the clover leaf project was discussed in detail, officials said.
“The project was discussed in detail and we requested the NHAI chairman to consider our proposal for constructing a clover leaf at Vatika Chowk to connect the proposed elevated road on SPR with the Sohna elevated road. This proposal has been given in principle approval. We will now ask the consultant hired for the project to prepare a detailed report for the clover leaf and it will be submitted to NHAI for approval,” said a senior GMDA official.
The GMDA plans to construct a 5.3-kilometre-long elevated road between Vatika Chowk and the clover leaf on the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway, which will ensure smooth movement of traffic on this stretch. The elevated SPR and clover leaf at Vatika Chowk will ensure that traffic from the Sohna elevated road and from SPR can travel between Dwarka expressway, the Delhi-Mumbai expressway, and NH48 without any hitch as the entire loop will have controlled access for movement of traffic, GMDA officials said.
“We are expecting that traffic will increase on the SPR as both sides of this road and the Golf Course Extension Road have witnessed largescale real estate development. The traffic from the Dwarka expressway to Vatika Chowk will also increase significantly and this elevated road and clover leaf will help in smooth movement of traffic. If this elevated stretch is not constructed, then SPR will remain a bottleneck for the newly constructed expressways in the city,” the senior GMDA official said.
A proposal to connect the Sohna Road with SPR using ramps was earlier floated by the authority in the past but it was dropped due to lack of space at Vatika Chowk.
The GMDA has also given up the plan of constructing an elevated stretch from NH48 to Ghata on Golf Course Road as the authority found it difficult to generate funds for the project since it was estimated to cost more than ₹800 crore.
According to the authorities, the Southern Peripheral Road is witnessing largescale real estate development particularly from Sector 69 to Sector 79 with several residential and commercial projects being launched on this stretch in the last five years. Several new condominiums and commercial offices have come up and new residents have shifted to this area which has increased congestion and volume of existing traffic on SPR.
“This stretch also links four important roads, including the NH48, the Sohna elevated road, the Dwarka expressway and the Delhi-Mumbai expressway, so it is natural that traffic will increase substantially on this stretch and it needs to be integrated with these major roads through an elevated section,” said a GMDA official.
