Crack emerges in under-construction flyover on Dwarka Expressway

A major crack emerged in a slab between pillar number 120 and 121 of an under-construction flyover on Dwarka Expressway on Saturday, though no one was injured in the incident.

The broken span is part of the 29 km expressway, which is intended to connect Kherki Daula on the Delhi-Gurugram Expressway with Shiv Murti near Mahipalpur in Delhi.

"The crack appeared in a span during the testing process and immediately after the information was received, the area was cordoned off. Our team is trying to determine the reason for the crack. This span will be replaced," said Nirman Jambulkar, the project director.

Engineers of the construction company were also present on the spot. The officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) have also visited the spot to take stock of the matter.

"We have cordoned off the entire area and the work to clear the debris has begun. The flyover is being constructed in the middle of the road, so it did not affect traffic movement on either side," said a police officer.

The police also said that a major accident was averted as there were not too many people at the site when the incident occurred.

Preliminary reports suggest that a few girders were installed between the two pillars after which cracks emerged all across the slab and the reason could be some mechanical problem, said a district administration officer.

Earlier, two slabs of the under-construction expressway near the Daultabad village chowk had collapsed on March 28, in which three persons were injured.

In March 2021, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, had reviewed the construction work of the Dwarka Expressway to assess the status of the project and suggest improvement measures to the NHAI officials.

The NHAI has been working on this project since 2008. The expected cost of the project is Rs 7,000 crore.

Work on the project was originally expected to be completed in 2014, but due to delays in land acquisition, the project was transferred by the state government to the NHAI in 2016.

Once completed, the project will solve the twin problems of traffic congestion and vehicular pollution in Delhi-NCR.

The Dwarka Expressway project is a bypass to the Delhi-Gurugram section of the Delhi-Jaipur Expressway (NH-48).

"Earlier, two slabs of the expressway near the Daultabad village chowk had collapsed. Now, there is a crack in the slab between pillar number 120 and 121 ahead of the Daultabad chowk, which can break and fall at any time due to substandard material which is being used in the project. A high-level probe should be initiated into the incident," said Rakesh Rana, the president of Sai Kunj Resident Welfare Association.