GURGAON: A survey of the Southern Peripheral Road (SPR) has revealed that the road is witnessing damage due to overload , prompting GMDA to take up a project to strengthen the road. The detailed project report (DPR) is already under process, according to sources within the authority.A feasibility study done by GMDA earlier this year revealed that many trucks were using the SPR to move from Gurgaon to Faridabad , resulting in heavy traffic load on the road. According to GMDA officials, the road was developed to bear a traffic load of around eight tonnes but currently it is witnessing a 34-tonne load.The authority is now drawing up an elaborate plan to strengthen the road which was opened to traffic only two years ago in 2017 by Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP). "We are working on the DPR for strengthening the road but we will not be able to share the specifics, unless it is approved," said a senior GMDA official.When a road is partially damaged, repair work is carried out on several layers of the road, which is called road strengthening. The carriageway of SPR for traffic from Gurgaon to Faridabad has been badly damaged, according to the officials. The other carriageway has less damage, they said.According to GMDA chief engineer Jitender Mittal, the load currently witnessed by the road is almost four times what was predicted while the impact of the load is 16 times, which has caused serious damage to the road.GMDA sources said at least two underpasses or flyovers might be proposed at two junctions of the road, including Vatika Chowk, along with the strengthening project.The proposal is expected to be tabled in the upcoming meeting of GMDA in the first week of March.Earlier, TOI reported that Public Works Department (PWD) minister Rao Narbir Singh had a proposal to make the SPR signal-free and construct an underpass or flyover at the important junctions of the road.According to sources, the flyover/underpass project would cost around Rs 600 crore.Sources added that some developers who had invested on the SPR recently lobbied for a singal-free road, as well.Transport experts, however, expressed concerns over the proposal, saying the road was developed only two years ago and instead of spending more money on making it signal-free, the government should invest in strengthening public transport in the area.

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