Eastern Peripheral Expressway or KGP (kundli-Ghaziabad-Palwal) is a proposed road which will bypass Delhi on eastern side. Eastern Peripheral Expressway or Kundli-Ghaziabad-Palwal expressway is one of the two semicircular expressways which will form a third ring road around Delhi.
This expressway is 135 km, of the same length as KMP. The expressway along with Western Peripheral Expressway (or KMP expressway) will decongest Delhi from traffic entering and bypassing the city through National highways.
The project involves construction of a six-lane expressway with access control highway connecting Faridabad-Greater Noida-Ghaziabad-Sonipat, which will also act as a bypass to Delhi.
The complete peripheral road will connect following radial highways: NH-1, 2, 8, 10, 24, 58, 91, SH-57, Yamuna/Taj expressway, Ganga expressway, Hindon expressway among others.
The expressways will significantly DE-clog Delhi's internal roads of outbound traffic and trucks. Records with the traffic police reveal that heavy vehicles including trucks are responsible for almost 40% of road deaths in the capital
NHAI(National Highways Authority of India)floated its first tender in October 2008.Despite the project looks very alluring and lots of promises have been made about the project. There has been a delay by subsequent ministers for highways since then. Though six infrastructure firms were qualified to bid (then costing Rs 2,335 crore), only one player submitted the financial bid in December 2008. After this the bidding deadline was extended five times.
"NHAI wanted the project to be awarded as in other cases where only single bids were placed. But the then minister, Kamal Nath, scrapped the bidding process in July 2009. Then the process of restructuring the project under new toll rules began," an NHAI official said.
The Planning Commission then came into action and favored developing this stretch as a bypass. But the ministry dismissed it, stating that the road project was considered as a normal highway and not a ‘bypass’.The ministry also stated that if toll rates are high, traffic will move out to the western peripheral expressway, the other half of the ring.
The Planning Commission then came into action and favored developing this stretch as a bypass. But the ministry dismissed it, stating that the road project was considered as a normal highway and not a ‘bypass’.The ministry also stated that if toll rates are high, traffic will move out to the western peripheral expressway, the other half of the ring.
Planning Commission, highway secretary R S Gujral agreed saying “EPE acts as a link road, connecting Palwal on NH-2, passing through NH-91, NH-24 and NH-1 before touching Kundli. Therefore EPE is not a bypass; rather, it is a connecting highway linking various NHs.”
The Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure, which had considered the proposal on April 20 had approved the project and directed the Public Private Partnership Accounts Committee (PPPAC) to take a final decision on the toll rate.
The further delay in the project is again form the ministry when PPPAC is waiting for a go ahead for the bidding process since PPPAC was to bid the project as a normal national highway in June this year, the tenders were also invited and 24 of them qualified for the same,the documents for the final bidding are ready.
Now despite the Supreme Court monitoring the project .The vested interests are playing some tactic or the other to delay the project.
The delay has already impacted the national capital and its adjoining areas as the project, which is part of a ring expressway around this region, was conceived to decongest Delhi roads and to avoid the entry of trucks.
Fact file of Eastern Peripheral Expressway
Length - 135 km
Lanes - 6, expandable up to 8 in future
Areas covered - Sonepat, Faridabad (Haryana), Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar (UP)
Speed limit - Designed for 120 km/hr
Expected vehicular movement - 1,00,000 vehicles per day by 2021
Project cost - Rs. 3000 crores
Interchanges - On intersections with NH-1, NH-2, NH-24, NH-58, NH-91, SH-57, Hindon Expressway, Yamuna Expressway
Bridges and Underpasses - 3 river bridges (2 over Yamuna, 1 over Hindon), 43 other bridges, 59 underpasses
Toll Plazas - 2
Project duration - 3.5 years
Concession period - 25 years including construction period
Status - Yet to be awarded
No comments:
Post a Comment