Ghaziabad plans Rs 212 crore elevated road, railway underpass before winter

The Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) plans to take up two major transport infrastructure projects using its urban infrastructure development funds and the Centre’s Urban Challenge Fund, as the city prepares for the winter pollution season.

The projects are a 2-km, four-lane elevated road on GT Road and a railway underpass between Ghaziabad railway station and the ALH crossing. Together, the projects are expected to address major traffic bottlenecks in the city while supporting efforts to reduce dust and vehicular emissions, reported The Hindustan Times.

The elevated road will run from Ramlila Maidan in Ghantaghar to Bhatia Mod, passing through the busy Chaudhary Mod area. It is expected to ease congestion at Bhatia Mod, Chaudhary Mod and Ghantaghar and improve movement on GT Road towards Aligarh.

The plans for the elevated road are being prepared by IIT Roorkee.

“The estimated cost of the project has been pegged at Rs 200 crore and will be partly taken up under the Urban Challenge Fund and urban infrastructure development,” a GDA official said.

Under the Urban Challenge Fund, 25 per cent of the financing comes from the Centre, 25 per cent from the state government or urban local body, while the remaining 50 per cent is raised through market-based financing. GDA has set aside Rs 50 crore from its urban infrastructure development funds for the elevated-road project.

The second project is a railway underpass between Ghaziabad railway station and the ALH crossing. GDA plans to spend Rs 12 crore from its urban infrastructure development fund on the project.

“The site is between Ghaziabad station and ALH crossing, where railway crossings on the busy Delhi-Howrah route presently cause traffic bottlenecks. The area is notorious for traffic jams, which contribute to vehicular pollution. As per a study, the area witnesses a traffic volume of 2,293 passenger car units. We had proposed an underpass, which has been approved by the railways, and based on its assessment, we plan to spend Rs 12 crore from the fund for its construction,” the official said.

The infrastructure plans come alongside Ghaziabad’s winter pollution preparations. The Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board has identified nine pollution hotspots in the city, up from seven last year.

The UPPCB report found that Ghaziabad’s average PM10 concentration increased from 137 micrograms per cubic metre in 2025 to 205 micrograms per cubic metre in 2026 between January and August. Average PM2.5 levels across four monitoring stations increased from 67 to 82 micrograms per cubic metre over the same period.

The GDA currently has Rs 272 crore in its urban infrastructure fund from 2025-26 and is expected to raise that to Rs 322 crore by the end of the current financial year.