NHAI to kick off work on NH-8 cloverleaf within ‘a fortnight’

GURGAON: With work on Southern Peripheral Road (SPR) and Northern Peripheral Road (NPR) marred by litigation, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has decided to go ahead with the construction of the proposed cloverleaf on the Gurgaon-Jaipur Expressway, near Kherki Daula. It will later be connected with the two roads as and when they are ready.
The cloverleaf, which is to be constructed around 1.5km to 2km before the Kherki Daula toll plaza on NH-8, will help reduce pressure on the three key highways — SPR, NPR and Gurgaon-Jaipur expressway.The work was expected to start following completion of NPR and SPR, but the two projects have been getting delayed due to one legal battle after another.
“It has been decided to start construction of the cloverleaf on NH-8 and connect it with NPR at a later stage. The NHAI has placed the project on priority and it will help reduce congestion on NH-8,” said Ashok Sharma, project director, NHAI, adding that the project estimate will be prepared in the next 15 days after tenders are invited.
The authority aims to complete the project in the next one-and-half-years. Sharma further said that once the flyover, part of the cloverleaf, is constructed, vehicles coming from Jaipur-side can directly go towards Faridabad through SPR. At present, vehicles from Jaipur-side have to travel all the way to Rajiv Chowk or Iffco Chowk to cross the expressway to head towards Faridabad side, causing traffic jams.
“Once the cloverleaf is connected with NPR, it will ensure smooth flow of traffic between Dwarka and Jaipur-side,” he said.
Elaborating on the cloverleaf design, the director said the project will be a two-level interchange wherein left turns will be handled by slip roads. Vehicles in the middle will be allowed to continue straight on the road in either of the four directions.
The SPR will originate from Gurgaon-Faridabad Road near Ghata and meet NH-8 near Khedki Dhaula, and is proposed to be connected to NPR through the Central Peripheral Road (CPR). The CPR starts from a place close to Kedki Daula village and meets NPR near Harbaru village.
The construction of SPR is near completion and is connected with NH-8 while land acquisition for CPR has been completed. A major part of NPR is complete, but it is yet to be connected with NH-8 due to pending litigation related to the rehabilitation of oustees from Kherki Daula. NPR has not been connected with Delhi as well due to the legal hassles. “We hope to overcome all legal hurdles. By the time the cloverleaf is constructed, NPR will also be ready,” said a senior Huda official.