Date:26/04/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/04/26/stories/2008042653800400.htm

New Delhi

East Delhi gets a brand new road

Staff Reporter

Will go a long way in reducing traffic on busy Vikas Marg by almost 50 per cent

NEW DELHI: Travel through some of the most congested parts of East Delhi has become much faster and smoother with the opening of the 2.9-km Disused Canal Road that provides easy access from Marginal Bund Road to Karkari Mor.

Dedicating the road to the people, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Thursday said that with the opening of the road and subsequent inauguration of the Geeta Colony Bridge over the Yamuna, travel time between Karkari Mor and Shanti Van would get reduced to a mere 20 minutes.

The Disused Canal Road, which has been constructed by the Public Works Department at a cost of Rs.102 crore, will go a long way in reducing traffic on Vikas Marg, almost by 50 per cent.

Public Works Department Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan said the project was a well thought out one as it provided a 30-metre right of way over a sewer-cum-storm water drain.

Boon for satellite towns

The construction of Disused Canal Road was started in December 2004 and completed on April 15, 2008.

Not only will this road handle traffic movement between East Delhi and the rest of the city, it is also expected to be used by a large number of people from the neighbouring satellite townships of Ghaziabad and Noida.

The road consists of two carriageways of two lanes each and passes through Shastri Nagar, East Laxmi Nagar, Bank Enclave, Gagan Vihar and Geeta Colony. The 100-foot-wide road would also have a two-lane flyover connecting it to Geeta Colony Bridge for making it completely signal-free.