Green signal for PWD study to decongest ITO

                      Green signal for PWD study to decongest ITO

New Delhi: A new proposal to decongest the busy ITO intersection is in offing with the Delhi public works department being given the go-ahead to hire consultants for a study by PWD minister Raj Kumar Chauhan.There have been several proposals in the past which have not worked.This is a fresh study.Consultants will be asked to take into account the upcoming Delhi Metro plans and traffic density on various arms of the crossing in exploring possible link roads and loops, Chauhan said.PWD engineers are about to invite applications for consultants.If the cost of hiring consultants is within Rs 5 crore,the PWD principal secretary will give his approval or else we will take it to the finance department.The study will be a detailed one as the ITO is one of the most congested intersections in all of Delhi and a large area around the ITO Chowk must be taken into account, a senior engineer said.The latest proposals to have been junked include a couple of two-lane flyovers suggested by former directorgeneral of Central Public Works Department Bhisham Kumar Chugh.Chugh had proposed three flyovers and loops connecting Tilak Marg to Vikas Marg,Tilak Marg to DDU Marg and Kotla Road to Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg.He had also proposed to make IP Marg one-way till Delhi Secretariat with traffic headed to Vikas Marg and Laxmi Nagar using the stretch.Earlier,there had been a proposal for a flyover at Bahadurshah Zafar Marg along with parking underneath and two half-flyovers at Ring Road to ensure a signal-free ride from Madhuban Chowk.Clearances from DDA and DUAC were obtained but the plan was shelved due to the BRT corridor pilot project.Another proposal mooted construction of a flyover right after Tilak bridge to the Times House on Bahadurshah Zafar Marg.Planners had suggested that the corridor could run over the flyover.IIT has proposed its own solution to the government,claiming that two dedicated bus lanes with shelters along the central verge could tackle the problem.