Noida: Barely five years after opening, the Sector 71 underpass is riddled with potholes and rough patches. The 780-metre, six-lane stretch runs beneath the Sector 71 and 52 crossing along Vikas Marg, a key arterial road linking Wave City Centre to Parthala Chowk and Greater Noida West.Designed to enable signal-free movement between central Noida and the newer residential hubs of sectors 51, 52, 74 to 79, Hoshiyarpur and Greater Noida West, the underpass now has uneven patches at several points. The approach roads to the underpass are also marked with potholes and stretches where bitumen has eroded.“It is concerning that a relatively new project is in such bad shape in just five years. The traffic moving towards Greater Noida West has to move through the underpass and it is always under a lot of traffic pressure,” a resident of Sector 51, Sanjeev Kumar, said. “The surface has eroded and the dust fills up the underpass. It is bumpy and uncomfortable. Noida Authority does not bother to mechanically sweep the underpass too. They should immediately repair the stretch.”The Rs 59-crore underpass project began in June 2019, setting Dec 2020 as the deadline. The project subsequently missed two more deadlines in March and June 2021 before finally opening to traffic in Nov that year.The Authority had recently engaged Central Road Research Institute to conduct a study of the underpass and submit a report on its condition. The CRRI team conducted a site inspection on Aug 17 but hasn’t submitted a final report yet.Prateek Wisteria resident Amit Gupta said the institute informed him in response to an RTI application that it had inspected the Sector 71 underpass at Noida Authority’s request to examine the pavement and assess remedial measures. The institute had charged Rs 6 lakh for the inspection.“Final remedial recommendations are to be provided in the project report on completion of the assessment and analysis. Since the final project report has not yet been submitted, the final recommendations cannot be furnished as a completed CRRI report at this stage,” the RTI reply said. However, the main causes of the damage were not divulged.The Authority’s work circle 3 issued a tender worth Rs 12.6 crore for strengthening the road from Sector 71 underpass to Shashi Chowk roundabout on Sept 18. The work, which includes laying new bituminous layers, is expected to be completed within three months. The underpass, however, falls under work circle 6 and is not included in this tender.Noida Authority general manager AK Arora did not comment on the issue.Meanwhile, roads in several sectors and areas, including Film City, Botanical Garden and sectors 37, 51 and 52, are dotted with potholes and rough patches as the resurfacing works have not been carried out in time.
