Expressway connecting four states back on track

Manesar | Chandigarh, July 25: With barely a year left for the completion of the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway and the legal wrangle sorted out in the high court, the construction of the 135-km-long expressway meant to connect Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, without the need to go through Delhi, is back on track.

While Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda did an aerial survey of the expressway this month, H S Kohli of DS Construction and chairman of the KMP Expressway assured that the expressway, pegged at Rs 1,915 crore, would be completed by July 2009, a month ahead of schedule.

Kohli said, “The project is scheduled to be completed by July 2009 and massive work has already been initiated on the it. This includes concrete work for underpasses, overpasses and irrigation bridges as well as setting up of concrete batching plants and earthwork activities.”

The firm claimed to have launched a massive construction drive with 1,400 employees on the project and spent Rs 384 crore. The Indian Express travelled through parts of the expressway under construction and found that while the piling work and construction of foundations for the over 500 structures were underway, the carpeting of the road was yet to begin.

Though earthwork of nearly 80 cubic metre has been undertaken by DS Construction so far and the road levelling exercise is complete, the contractors have carpeted only one kilometre with bitumen near Karkari village. While road carpeting is one of the essential components of constructing the expressway, contractors said work will speed up only after the monsoon.

Culverts

The construction of a culvert, nearly 10 km off NH-8, meant to channelise water from the nearby areas is under construction. While there are 292 culverts or cross-drainage works to be constructed across the entire stretch between Palwal and Kundli, 70 culverts have been constructed so far and 131 are under construction; 28 per cent of the work has been completed and 44 per cent of the work is underway.

Underpasses

The construction of an underpass for passage of agricultural vehicles is underway. The expressway has 33 agricultural vehicular underpasses and 27 underpasses through village roads. The project has 16 underpasses and overpasses planned at crossings of state highways and major district roads. The foundations have been laid for 10-odd structures and more than 100 piles have been completed so far.

Railway over-bridges

There are four railway over-bridges planned along the stretch, but these are yet to be constructed. According to DS Construction, the Railways have approved the concept plan as well as the design.

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