Toll-Based Elevated Ring Road May Help Bypass City Gridlock

Time of India

10 hours ago

New Delhi: The proposed elevated corridor running over Ring Road could be a tolled road, with the tax collections helping to recover project costs and fund future maintenance. Sources in Delhi govt revealed on Monday that during a recent meeting of the Public Works Department, officials were directed to hire a consultant, make a detailed project report and work on a toll tax model for the stretch.
A senior official said, "Govt has determined to implement a cost-effective approach to infrastructure development. It plans to introduce a dual system where people can choose regular roads or premium elevated corridors. Those willing to pay toll charges can opt for the quicker elevated routes, while others can continue using the existing roads." He cited the example of DND Flyway connecting Ashram with Noida on which motorists paid a toll while others used alternative routes.
The cost of the construction of an elevated road is estimated to be around Rs 100 crore per kilometre. "This project can be completed at a cost of Rs 5,500-6,000 crore," the PWD minister had said earlier. While Inner Ring Road is 55km in length, the proposed elevated corridor is expected to be around 80km long given the ramps, loops and additional link roads needed to improve connectivity and address bottlenecks.
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PWD minister Parvesh Verma confirmed on Monday, "PWD has been asked to expedite the process of appointing a consultant who will prepare the technical and feasibility aspects of the project."
The elevated road is part of Delhi govt's broader plan to tackle traffic congestion at several choke points, many of which fall along the Ring Road corridor.
Inner Ring Road begins at Shalimar Bagh in north Delhi and extends to Azadpur. Once a relatively efficient arterial corridor designed to decongest central areas and facilitate cross-city travel, Ring Road is now facing chronic congestion. Unlike the newer Outer Ring Road, developed later to redirect peripheral traffic, the inner of the ring roads is buckling under mounting pressures.
From urban sprawl and flawed planning to infrastructure saturation and enforcement gaps, a confluence of factors has forced the once-speedy corridor into a glacial pace.
When a city ring road was originally planned in the 1950s and completed in the following decades, it was meant to serve a very different city — both in population and traffic volume. At the time, Delhi had fewer than three million residents. Today, the metro region is home to over 30 million.
The road, however, has not expanded proportionately to accommodate this growth. What was once designed as a bypass route now functions as a semi-central road.
As the city grew outward, neighbourhoods like South Extension, Punjabi Bagh, Lajpat Nagar and Ashram became dense mid-city urban hubs. Ring Road now cuts through commercial, institutional and residential areas. The corridor is used not just by through traffic but also by local vehicles to access shops, markets, schools, and hospitals — all of which generate frequent stops and lane intrusions.
Intersections like AIIMS, Moolchand, Dhaula Kuan, Ashram and ITO are choke points where the arterial routes intersect. While flyovers and underpasses have been built at some locations, they often only shift the congestion rather than resolve it. Delhi Traffic Police conducted a survey in 2024 and found that of 134 congestion hotspots, at least 12 were located on Ring Road and Outer Ring Road.