A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the main tunnel of the Pragati Maidan Integrated Transit Corridor project in Delhi, it was thrown open for traffic .
The India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) tunnel will open for traffic from 8 am to 8 pm on a trial basis for a few days, officials said.
“Vehicular movement in the tunnel started today morning. Traffic police and well as PWD officials will keep a close watch on the movement of vehicles to ensure that everything goes smoothly,” a senior official of ITPO told PTI.
The 1.3-km-long tunnel, which is Delhi’s first, and five underpasses part of the Pragati Maidan Integrated Transit Corridor project were inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi on Sunday.
All about the tunnel
The main tunnel connects Ring Road with India Gate via Purana Qila Road passing through Pragati Maidan. It starts near the National Sports Complex of India at the Purana Qila Road and passes underneath the redeveloped Pragati Maidan to meet the Ring Road near the Pragati Power station.
The corridor will allow commuters travelling to India Gate and other central Delhi areas from east Delhi, Noida and Ghaziabad to ditch traffic snarls at ITO, Mathura Road and Bhairon Marg.
The six lane divided tunnel has multiple purposes, including access to the huge basement parking of Pragati Maidan.
A unique component of the tunnel is that two cross tunnels below the main tunnel road have been constructed in order to facilitate movement of the traffic from either side of the parking lot. It is equipped with the latest global standard facilities for smooth movement of traffic such as smart fire management, modern ventilation and automated drainage, digitally controlled CCTV and public announcement system.
This long-awaited tunnel will serve as an alternative route to Bhairon Marg, which is running much beyond its carriage capacity and is expected to take more than half of the traffic load of Bhairon Marg.
