By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 3 Jul: Besides road caving in at a couple of places along the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway, some other issues also continue to pose problems but the work is stated to be underway on dealing with these issues. National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has claimed that it has removed three of the six hazardous boulders identified along the elevated section of the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway, while work is continuing to remove the remaining three rocks that are considered a potential threat to the safety of commuters. In view of the ongoing operation, traffic diversions on the elevated stretch have been extended for another week, although two-wheeler movement has been allowed on several sections to minimise inconvenience to commuters.
The boulder removal exercise is being carried out on the elevated portion of the expressway constructed by cutting through the hills in the Mohand area. The remaining rock formations are considered vulnerable to dislodging during adverse weather conditions, particularly during the monsoon, posing a potential risk to vehicles using the expressway. To eliminate this hazard, the NHAI has undertaken a large-scale rock removal operation that has been in progress for more than a month.
According to officials, three of the six identified boulders have already been safely removed. Work on the remaining three is underway and is expected to be completed within the next week. As a result, the existing traffic diversion on the elevated road will continue during this period. Once the remaining hazardous rocks have been removed and the area declared safe, the route will be reopened fully for all categories of traffic.
The project was originally scheduled to be completed before the onset of the monsoon. The NHAI had earlier stated that the entire rock-cutting operation would be finished by 8 June so that no danger would remain during the rainy season. However, despite more than a month’s work, the exercise could not be completed within the planned timeframe. With the monsoon now having set in, officials acknowledge that continuing the operation has become more challenging due to intermittent rainfall and weather-related constraints.
Project Director Saurabh Singh shared that six hazardous boulders had been identified for removal along the elevated section of the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway. Three have already been removed, while work on the remaining three is progressing. He said the traffic diversion would remain in place for another week and added that movement of two-wheelers has already been restored on several stretches to provide relief to commuters while ensuring safety during the ongoing operation.
