Officials said that footpath along this stretch on Outer Ring Road will also be improved between the stretch so that pedestrians and cyclists do not merge with the heavy traffic. “Bids have been invited for the work. After tenders are allotted, the work will start. This process is likely to take about a month. The construction work is scheduled to be completed in four months time after it is started on ground,” a PWD official told PTI requesting anonymity.

According to the tender document the project will be completed at an estimated cost of around Rs 3 crore in four months. The official said that long queues of vehicles can be seen during peak traffic hours in the morning and evening every day at traffic junctions near Mannu Ka Tila and Chandgi Ram Akhara on Outer Ring Road.

The PWD's plan is to do away with both the traffic signals here and develop back-to-back U-turns near these crossings.?“This can be executed after widening the road, which will be done. These U-turns will facilitate commuters to go towards Civil Lines, Vidhan Sabha, Delhi University, Kashmere Gate, Timarpur without interrupting traffic movement,” the official said.

Sources said that earlier there was a plan to build a flyover at Metcalf House crossing to beat the the traffic snarls but that has now been changed and back-to-back U-turns will be constructed to decongest the stretch. Official said that all the construction activities will be carried out following environmental norms and in a way that commuters are not troubled much.? “The contractor shall at all times carry out work in a manner creating minimum interference in the flow of traffic as per direction of Engineer-in-Charge,” the PWD tender document stated.

With PTI Inputs