Delhi’s first skywalk: The construction of the skywalk, which is being made in order to decongest one of the city’s busiest traffic junctions at the Income Tax Office (ITO) in central Delhi is set to be completed by the end of this month. The skywalk is likely to be opened to the public in the month of September, according to Public Works Department (PWD) officials who were quoted in an HT report. Once the construction of the skywalk is complete, around 30,000 pedestrians who cross the road at ITO every day will benefit. The city’s first-ever skywalk will facilitate the smooth movement of pedestrians, connecting Tilak Marg, Sikandara Road, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg and Mathura Road at the W-point of the ITO crossing from the Pragati Maidan metro station. Moreover, it will help reduce safety risks as well.
The skywalk, which will have four arms, will start from the Pragati Maidan metro station. The first arm of the skywalk will exit at the Mathura Road bus stand. The second one will go under the Metro line and it will descend near the entry of the Tilak Bridge railway station. There will be two exits in the third wing- one on Tilak Marg, near the Bal Gangadhar Tilak statue and the other one on Sikandra Road, near the Institute of Archaeology building. The fourth one will be a ramp that will descend on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, near the Hanuman Temple. Meanwhile, a FOB will also be developed under the project near Hans Bhawan on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg.
According to a senior PWD official, although the construction of the skywalk was delayed due to rain, the project has now been fast-tracked. The official said that around 75 per cent of the work has been completed and the rest of the work is likely to be wrapped up by the end of this month. Also, painting of the skywalk has been started and it is likely to be over in a week.
The construction of the skywalk, which is 615 metre long, was started last year in the month of November and it was scheduled to be over in March. However, the deadline was shifted to May and then it was shifted to June. According to officials, as the project site is at one of the busiest traffic intersections, the delay had occurred due to complexities involved in the construction. The officials also informed that the cost of the project is estimated to be Rs 54.34 crore.
According to another official quoted in the report, there are a number of underground utilities (wires and pipelines) in the area. The official said that they had to work underneath them as shifting these utilities was not possible. Also, the traffic couldn’t be stopped completely at ITO as it one of the most crucial crossings, so the pace at which the work took place was slow, he added.
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