Rs 5,000 Cr Signal-Free Flyover to Change How Delhi Travels—No Red Light from AIIMS to Delhi Airport

In a major infrastructure boost aimed at decongesting Delhi’s traffic and easing airport commutes, the Centre has approved an ambitious Rs 5,000 crore project for a fully signal-free elevated corridor in Delhi. The proposed flyover, which will connect areas around AIIMS to Mahipalpur, will offer a seamless, traffic-free route from South Delhi to Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport and Gurgaon.

The greenfield project, which is also extending to the Gurgaon-Faridabad Road, is expected to significantly cut travel time and remove bottlenecks along one of the capital’s busiest stretches.

To be executed by the NHAI, the road projects were finalised in a meeting between Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, and L-G Vinai Kumar Saxena last week.

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About the route

The proposed 20-km corridor will start at AIIMS and pass through Ring Road before extending to Nelson Mandela Marg in Vasant Kunj. From there, it will continue via the Mahipalpur bypass and eventually merge with key routes leading to Gurgaon and Faridabad.

Furthermore, a 5-km tunnel, which will link Nelson Mandela Marg to the Dwarka Expressway and Airport Expressway, will also be built. This will enable a seamless, signal-free journey for commuters heading to the airport from south and southeast Delhi.

Boon for commuters

Highway officials reckon that the elevated stretch will operate as a parallel corridor to the highly congested Delhi–Gurgaon Expressway and is also expected to divert traffic on NH48 from Gurgaon to Ghaziabad, Noida and Greater Noida.

It will also free up the Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road, Ring Road and Outer Ring Road by providing a direct, signal-free route for vehicles. Highway officials reckon that the proposed flyover will offer a direct, signal-free route for commuters, reducing travel time and congestion.

Bidding process to kickstart

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has already invited bids for preparing a detailed project report (DPR), with submissions of bids likely to be completed by the end of June. The DPR will determine the most feasible alignment for the corridor, and whether segments will be constructed as fully elevated or include underground tunnels, depending on existing metro lines and infrastructure.

Larger infrastructure play

This elevated corridor is part of a larger Rs 24,000 crore infrastructure plan for Delhi. Among related developments is a Rs 3,500 crore tunnel project connecting Shiv Murti near Mahipalpur to Vasant Kunj. Apart from the above projects, the initiative also includes separate DPRs for traffic interchanges at Kalindi Kunj and Mehrauli, alongside road upgrades in areas like Ashram–Badarpur and the Delhi–Haryana border near Mehrauli.