Haryana Govt Clears DLF's ₹140 Crore Flyover-Underpass Plan Near Shankar Chowk — Here's What It Means for Your Commute

If you've ever sat in bumper-to-bumper traffic near Ambience Mall, watching the signal at Shankar Chowk turn green and red three times before you've moved an inch, you're going to want to read this. Because that daily headache might finally be getting an expensive, long-overdue fix.

The Haryana government has given the green light to a proposal by real estate giant DLF to build a flyover and an underpass near Shankar Chowk, one of Gurugram's most notoriously congested junctions. And here's the twist that makes this genuinely newsworthy: DLF is footing the entire bill itself.

Let's break down what's actually happening, why it matters, and when you can realistically expect the chaos at Shankar Chowk to ease up.

What Has the Haryana Government Actually Approved?

The plan involves two separate structures. The first is a flyover connecting the area near Ambience Mall to Cyber City. The second is an underpass running from Moulsari Avenue toward Delhi. Together, these are expected to cost somewhere between ₹130 crore and ₹140 crore, with DLF covering the full amount.

The proposal was routed through the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) last year, though the formal approval letter from the Haryana government is still pending. In other words, this is official in principle, but the paperwork is still catching up.

Why Shankar Chowk, of All Places?

If you're not a regular on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, you might wonder why this particular junction gets so much attention. The answer is simple: geography and volume.

Shankar Chowk sits at a T-point where a road from Old Delhi Road via Udyog Vihar meets the highway, and it's where traffic heading toward Cyber City, Udyog Vihar, and Ambience Mall all collide with vehicles trying to get to or from Delhi. Industry groups had been flagging this exact bottleneck for years, at one point estimating that nearly 50,000 vehicles reach Udyog Vihar from Old Delhi Road daily through this junction alone, cutting straight across Delhi-bound traffic in the process.

On the wider stretch between Delhi and Gurugram, over four lakh vehicles pass through during peak hours, and Shankar Chowk has long been one of the stickiest points in that flow. It's not an exaggeration to say this junction has been a headache for commuters, industry, and traffic police alike for the better part of a decade. Even NHAI and GMDA have recently been studying the junction jointly as part of a broader push to fix congestion hotspots along the expressway.

The Route, the Design, and the Timeline

Here's where it gets a bit more technical, but stick with me — this is the part that actually affects your route.

The flyover will run parallel to the existing flyover, above the service road, starting from the U-turn underpass near Ambience Mall and heading toward Cyber City on the Delhi-to-Jaipur side of the highway. The idea is to give commuters a direct link that lets them skip Moulsari Avenue and Shankar Chowk entirely. The plan also includes widening the service road behind the U-turn underpass from two lanes to four.

The underpass, meanwhile, will run from Moulsari Avenue toward Delhi, passing beneath the expressway so vehicles can merge with Delhi-bound traffic without having to navigate Shankar Chowk at all.

Both structures are planned as three-lane builds, and DLF intends to construct the flyover first, followed by the underpass. Officials expect the work to take around a year once the project is formally awarded, though the exact schedule will only be locked in after the tender process wraps up. Right now, the design and alignment are still being worked out, and the whole plan is based on a 15-day traffic study a private consultant carried out for DLF in August 2025.

So, realistically, don't expect bulldozers tomorrow. This is a "cleared for takeoff" moment from the Haryana government, not a "wheels up" one.

A Rare Move: A Builder Paying for Public Infrastructure

This part deserves its own spotlight, because it's genuinely unusual. This marks the first project in north India where a private builder is independently funding infrastructure of this scale, rather than splitting the cost with the government. DLF has done something similar before with Golf Course Road, but that was a cost-sharing arrangement. This time, it's going solo.

A DLF spokesperson framed it in terms of giving back to the city: "It is all about giving back to the people." Whatever the motivation, the practical effect is that the Haryana government gets a major bottleneck fix without dipping into public funds — and DLF gets a smoother commute right outside its own commercial hub.

It's also not an isolated gesture. DLF Foundation is separately building a pedestrian subway at Shankar Chowk, connecting the National Media Centre on NH-48 to Udyog Vihar, at a cost of around ₹25 crore, with the subway expected to be operational by late October. That project is aimed squarely at pedestrians and daily-wage commuters who currently have to cross a live highway on foot — arguably one of the more dangerous parts of the whole Shankar Chowk experience.

Other Builders Are Watching Closely

Once DLF's proposal got the go-ahead from the Haryana government, several other major developers reportedly submitted applications for similar infrastructure projects. That's worth paying attention to. If this model works — private capital fixing public choke points near commercial developments — it could quietly become the template for how Gurugram tackles its next decade of traffic problems, especially in a city where government infrastructure spending has struggled to keep pace with private real estate growth.

What This Actually Means for You

Strip away the policy language, and here's the everyday takeaway:

• If you commute between Ambience Mall and Cyber City, you'll eventually get a direct flyover route that skips Moulsari Avenue and Shankar Chowk altogether.
• If you're heading toward Delhi from Moulsari Avenue, the new underpass means you won't have to fight your way through the Shankar Chowk junction to merge.
• If you use the service road near the U-turn underpass, expect it to get wider and, hopefully, less chaotic.
• Don't expect immediate relief. Design finalization, tendering, and roughly a year of construction stand between now and a working flyover.

The Bigger Picture

Gurugram has been adding flyovers and underpasses steadily over the past decade as the city's population and vehicle count have outpaced its road capacity. What makes this particular project stand out isn't just the location — it's the funding model. A private developer bearing the full cost of public road infrastructure is a fairly significant shift, and how well it plays out near Shankar Chowk could shape whether the Haryana government leans on this approach more often across Gurugram's other pressure points.

For now, though, if you're stuck at Shankar Chowk this evening, take some comfort in knowing that relief, even if it's a year or two away, is officially on the books.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Who is paying for the DLF flyover and underpass near Shankar Chowk?
A: DLF is bearing the entire estimated cost of ₹130–140 crore itself, making it the first independently builder-funded project of this scale in north India.

Q: When will construction start on the Shankar Chowk flyover?
A: The formal approval letter from the Haryana government is still pending, and the design and alignment haven't been finalized. Construction is expected to take about a year after the project is formally awarded and tendered.

Q: Which roads will the new flyover and underpass connect?
A: The flyover will connect the area near Ambience Mall to Cyber City, running parallel to the existing flyover. The underpass will run from Moulsari Avenue toward Delhi, passing beneath the expressway.

Q: Is DLF also working on other infrastructure near Shankar Chowk?
A: Yes — DLF Foundation is separately building a ₹25 crore pedestrian subway at Shankar Chowk, linking the National Media Centre to Udyog Vihar, expected to open by late October.