Cabinet Approves 6-Lane Tunnel Connecting Dwarka Expressway to Vasant Kunj

The Union Cabinet has approved the construction of a new 8.1-kilometre, six-lane road tunnel (NH-148AE) connecting the Dwarka Expressway from the Shiv Murti interchange to Nelson Mandela Marg in Vasant Kunj. The infrastructure project, which will run underneath the Ridge, is designed to ease commuting across the region and will eventually link to Noida and Ghaziabad.

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced the decision, stating that the project will be constructed using the hybrid annuity mode (HAM). The entire project is expected to be completed within five years.

According to Vaishnaw, the tunnel addresses a long-standing demand for better traffic flow. The planned corridor starts from the Shiv Murti interchange, runs to Vasant Kunj and Nelson Mandela Marg, and continues to the elevated corridor near the Barapullah drain towards the DND Flyway.

To protect the ecologically sensitive Ridge area, the six-lane road tunnel will be built entirely underneath it. Vaishnaw emphasized that the Ridge acts as the "lungs of Delhi" and must not be disturbed during construction.

The project will establish a direct link between the Urban Extension Road-II (UER-II)-Dwarka Expressway corridor and South Delhi. It will also improve connectivity for traffic coming from Gurugram, Dwarka, West Delhi, and the Indira Gandhi International Airport.

According to an official government statement, the tunnel will eventually connect to the proposed AIIMS-Mahipalpur elevated corridor. This will provide seamless access to the Barapullah elevated road, linking West, South, and East Delhi, as well as Ghaziabad and Noida.

To address congestion at local intersections, the government has also proposed a 1.8-kilometre elevated road along Nelson Mandela Marg.

The government expects the massive infrastructure project to generate approximately 7.54 lakh person-days of direct employment and 9.8 lakh person-days of indirect employment during its construction phase.