Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said that nine stretches of roads in the national capital will be beautified and redesigned with a scientific approach to increase space efficiency, reduce traffic and accidents.
"There are nine stretches, almost 45 km long, which will be redesigned. We are doing this on a pilot basis and the work will be completed in a year. Roads in the city have not been constructed scientifically. Now, we will design roads with designated footpath, non-motor vehicle and others. This will increase efficiency, reduce traffic and accidents," Kejriwal said in a press conference here.
The chief minister said that the contract for the redesigning of the roads will be given by the end of November.
Among the roads planned to be redesigned are Vikas Marg, Nirvana road, Wazirpur depot crossing-Rithala metro station, Brita chowk-Outer ring road Pitampura West Enclave, Moti Nagar T point-Pusa road roundabout, Mayapuri Ring road-Moti Bagh junction, All Indian medial-Ashram Ring road, Ambedkarnagar-Defence Colony flyover and Nigambodh Ghat-Magazine road crossing outer ring road.
He also said that the roads will also be designed to prevent water-logging as rain harvesting structure will be constructed so it can be added to the city's groundwater.
"Bottlenecks will also be removed from the roads in the city. Currently, there are a lot of roads that turn from six lanes to two or three lanes. If the roads have the same lanes on the entire stretch, the traffic will move smoother," he said.
Kejriwal also said that the footpaths in the national capital will be beautified and redesigned to make them accessible to the physically disabled persons and so trees can be planted on them.
"There are no trees next to roads anymore. We will leave space for trees on footpaths and level them so physically disabled persons can also use them," he added.
"Auto and electric rickshaws also cause a lot of congestion on roads. So, we have decided to construct designated space for these vehicles on roads so congestion can be avoided on these busy roads," Kejriwal added.
This project is estimated to cost around Rs 400 crores, Rs 8-10 crore per km.
( With inputs from ANI )