Dwarka Expressway to open today: Traffic advisory lists roads to avoid

Long wait for the Dwarka Expressway is all set to end today with Prime Minister Narendra Modi scheduled to inaugurate the Haryana section of India's first elevated urban highway on Monday (March 11). PM Modi will also lay foundation to several other projects, including the Urban Extension Road-II or the new Ring Road around Delhi, Lucknow Ring Road, Kiratpur to Nerchowk section of NH-21 connecting Chandigarh and Manali among 112 national highway projects at an event to be held in Gurugram today. Delhi Traffic Police and Gurugram Police have issued traffic advisory on roads to avoid for regular commuters.

Gurugram Police has issued a traffic advisory which suggests commuters to avoid using the Dwarka Clover Leaf route towards IMT until 4 pm and use alternative routes if possible. It also says road between Antriksh Chowk Road may be diverted or closed if the rally gathering exceeds manageable levels. Heavy vehicles will also be prohibited from using Dwarka Expressway after 5 pm on March 10, and drivers are advised to use the KMP route instead.

For those heading for the event, the advisory has laid out plan as well. Vehicles from Rewari, Narnaul, and Dharuhera will be directed to the rally venue via KMP through Rampura Chowk and Vatika Chowk. Those coming from Faridabad, Palwal, and Sohna will use the Clover Leaf route, while vehicles from Pataudi will pass through Sati Chowk.

Delhi Traffic Police has also issued an advisory which suggests roads to be avoided today for commuters between Delhi and Gurugram. It says traffic movement will be regulated in many areas of Dwarka. It also suggests commuters to avoid intersections like Dhulsiras Chowk, Sector 8-9 crossing, Carmel Chowk Sector-20, Janki Chowk near Sector-23 police station and Pochanpur flyover Sector-23 Chowk. Traffic is also expected to be affected near the Transport Authority office, Sector-21 metro station and the Pacific Mall cut, Golf Course Road to Dhulsiras Chowk and Bamnoli, and Bharthal Chowk to Dhulsiras Chowk and Chhawla Road.

Travelling between Delhi and Gurugram will become easier with the Dwarka Expressway, also known as the Northern Peripheral Road. Developed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the 29-km 16-lane expressway is expected to be fully operational by next year. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has said that the Dwarka Expressway aims to reduce traffic on Delhi-Gurugram Expressway and and help commuters with an alternate route to reach the Indira Gandhi International Airport.

The Dwarka Expressway connects Dwarka in Delhi to Gurugram in Haryana. The expressway starts at Shiv-Murti on NH-8 or the Delhi-Gurugram Expressway, and ends near Kherki Daula Toll Plaza, through Dwarka Sector 21, Gurugram border and Basai. Around 19 kms of the expressway falls in Haryana while the rest of the 10-km stretch is in Delhi.

Developed at a cost of ₹9,000 crore, the Dwarka Expressway was built using around 2 lakh metric tonne of steel, which is 30 times more than what was used to build the iconic Eiffel Tower. The expressway also has around 20 lakh cubic metre of concrete used which is six times higher than what was used to build Burj Khalifa, world's tallest building.