GURGAON: The ongoing crisis in West Asia is beginning to show its impact beyond gas. Supply chain disruptions have delayed the opening of a section of the 43km-long Gurgaon-Pataudi-Rewari highway.National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) earlier planned to open by the end of Feb but is now targeting the end of March.NHAI officials said disruptions in supply chains due to geopolitical tensions have affected the availability of bitumen — a key material used for road surfacing — leading to delays.Earlier, NHAI said that traffic would first be allowed on the service road before opening the main carriageway, as a transmission line passing over the stretch was yet to be shifted.“We are planning to open the first 10km stretch connecting Dwarka Expressway and KMP Expressway by the end of March. Bituminous work is underway, but some delays have been caused due to supply constraints in procurement of construction materials because of the ongoing situation. However, we are trying to open a portion of the stretch for traffic within the next six to seven days. Initially, traffic will be allowed on the surface road,” an NHAI official said.Bitumen is procured by contractors from oil refinery companies and transported to project sites for use in hot mix plants. Since it is a by-product of crude oil refining, its availability is closely linked to global crude supply and refining output.While most of the structural work has been completed, key components remain pending, including a railway overbridge (ROB) at Pahari village and a unidirectional flyover at Dwarka Expressway.“Girder launching for the unidirectional flyover is currently underway, and we expect the structural work to be completed in the next two to three months. Excluding the ROB, most of the project is likely to be completed by May end. The ROB will take longer, and the overall project is expected to be completed by July,” the official added.Work on the ROB fell behind schedule due to delays in approvals for the girder launching scheme from the railways. Officials said permission has now been sought for a traffic block to facilitate launching, which requires temporary halting of train movement.Once fully operational, the corridor is expected to improve connectivity between Gurgaon, southern Haryana and Rajasthan, while easing pressure on the congested Delhi-Jaipur Expressway. It will also offer a faster alternative for industrial hubs in Manesar, Bilaspur and Dharuhera, facilitating smoother movement for both commuters and freight traffic.The project was first conceived in 2018 to upgrade the existing two-lane state highway into a four-lane national highway.The project’s foundation was laid in July 2020 by minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari. Estimated at Rs 900 crore, the project was originally due for completion in Dec 2022, but construction began only in Nov 2021, with a revised two-year deadline.However, utility shifting issues and delays in approvals resulted in repeated extensions of project deadlines. Work came to a halt in Sept 2022 after National Green Tribunal intervened following a plea by environmentalists over forest clearance. Petitioners argued that compensatory afforestation planned 300km away in Panchkula would not offset the loss of green cover along the project stretch.In April 2024, the Supreme Court allowed work to resume, directing that compensatory afforestation be carried out within the city. Construction has also been slowed intermittently due to monsoon disruptions and annual restrictions imposed across NCR to curb pollution.
