NEW DELHI: To ease #Delhi traffic movement, roads on new BRT corridors to be made wider

New Delhi: To ensure that road space does not shrink for cars and other vehicles during creation of dedicated bus lanes along Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridors, the Delhi government is now looking at expanding the road width in new projects. Construction of 13 new BRT corridors is being taken up by PWD and DIMTS.

Government officials said that if expanding the road is not possible, efforts will be made to construct elevated stretches. The East-West Corridor, which will now be developed as a dedicated BRT corridor, is likely to be elevated at some points, they said.

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit is expected to review the BRT project before work actually starts on the ground. While DIMTS has submitted preliminary project reports for its six corridors, the PWD is still in the process of hiring consultants to prepare detailed project reports for its stretches.

“We are of the opinion that mistakes, which were made during the construction of the Ambedkar Nagar-Delhi Gate BRT corridor, should be avoided during construction of new corridors. Firstly, work will be taken up on wider roads and efforts will be made to expand road width wherever possible. For instance, there is land available on either side of the road along the Yamuna belt. In areas where this is not possible, elevated stretches can be made. In the present situation, vehicles tend to encroach on non-motorised vehicle lanes due to shrinking of road length, and we want to discourage this,” the official said.

Other recommendations to ensure “improved BRT stretches” in the city include creating pedestrian facilities near bus stops, so people on foot do not face any problems while crossing the road. “Foot overbridges and other pedestrian facilities will be created to ensure smooth pedestrian movement,” said an official.

The first part of the 14.5-km-long Ambedkar Nagar-Delhi Gate corridor, which extends from Ambedkar Nagar to Moolchand (5.8 km), is operational as a BRT corridor.

The six corridors being handled by DIMTS comprise the Dhaula Kuan-Chawla, Badarpur-Airport, ISBT Kashmere Gate-Dilshad Garden, Gandhi Nagar-Chilla, Kondli-Mukunpur and the Gokulpuri-Karkari Mor corridors. The total length of these corridors is 97 km.

The seven corridors under PWD comprise the Mukundpur-Palam Mor, ISBT Kashmere Gate-Shahi Idgah, Mundka Tikri Border (old Rohtak Road, NH-10), Sarai Kale Khan-Jor Bagh (via Barapullah Nallah ), National Stadium-Ghazipur, Narela-Azadpur, Anand Vihar ISBT-Connaught Place and Kirbi Place-Tilak Nagar corridors.