GHAZIABAD: To the respite of thousands of residents of Crossings Republik, the National Highways Authority of India has approved a plan to link the township with the Delhi-Meerut Expressway or National Highway 9 through a loop on the Shahberi road.
Construction of the loop, estimated to cost Rs 9.5 crore, is set to commence in December. “Since October, NHAI has been working on a proposal to offer direct connectivity between DME/NH9 and Shahberi Road that leads to Crossings Republik township. Land survey, cost analysis and lane entry assessment were conducted to check the viability of the project,” said an official from NHAI.
A survey undertaken to measure the rate of traffic flow on the speedway showed around 40,000 passenger car units (PCU) use the NH9 per day and 10,000 PCUs use the DME. The proposed loop over DME, the officials said, will not hinder vehicular movement on the expressway as there is a plan to widen the service road.
As per the plan, the Shahberi Road near ABES Engineering College cut will be connected through a curved loop which will be an extension of the NH9 on the Delhi to Dasna carriageway.
Direct access from the expressway to the township has been a long-standing demand of Crossings residents. They claim that while coming from Delhi, they need to take a long detour to enter the service lane near the Continental Carbon factory and then take a narrow underpass to get to the Shahberi road.
“The expressway was not developed for commuters from Pratap Vihar side to take a right turn and enter Shahberi road. But after it has been developed, the only way to cross over to Shahberi road is either to use vehicular underpass opposite Continental Carbon factory or a narrow pedestrian underpass,” Prabhakar Mishra, a local resident, said.
