The construction work of the Ashram-DND extension flyover has been delayed and the flyover will not be open on February 15, said Manish Sisodia, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister after inspecting the progress of the work. He stated that the flyover will be open by February-end. The construction of the flyover will be completed by February-end, as per Sisodia.
Commuters have been facing huge traffic snarls and serpentine jams ever since the Ashram-DND extension flyover was shut down on January 1. The Delhi Police said on January 1 both the carriageways of the Ashram flyover will be closed due to the construction of a connecting road between the Ashram flyover and new DND flyover. Massive jams have been reported from areas such as Ring Road, Maharani Bagh, Siddharth Enclave, Mathura Road, Shaheen Bagh, AIIMS, CV Raman Marg, Captain Gaur Marg, Barapullah flyover, Lala Lajpat Rai Road, DND flyway and New Friends Colony.
The Ashram-DND extension flyover construction is designed to make traffic flow smoother between Ashram and Noida and will have 6 lanes. The construction was approved by the Delhi cabinet in December 2019 and the construction work began in June 2020.
Construction work was delayed due to the lockdown imposed by the COVID 19 pandemic and pollution. The ban on construction and demolitions in Delhi resulted in an indefinite delay in the construction of the flyover.
The 1.5 km long flyover is the jugular between South Delhi and Noida in Uttar Pradesh and is also a crucial link between south and central Delhi as well as Faridabad. The flyover also links Mathura Road and Ring Road Lajpat Nagar-Sarai Kale Khan and DND flyovers.