New Delhi Flyover Construction Alters Historic Turkman Gate
Construction of a flyover at Old Delhi's historic Turkman Gate is disrupting the area and promises to permanently change views and traffic flow around the
A new flyover is being constructed directly in front of the historic Turkman Gate in Old Delhi. The project, part of the New Delhi railway station redevelopment, is transforming the visual landscape and daily chaos at the centuries-old Mughal gateway.
The Old and the New
A large yellow crane now stands before the red sandstone Turkman Gate, its metallic frame contrasting sharply with the old monument. Concrete roadway stretches out and ends abruptly in mid-air above the site. Labourers in orange helmets and fluorescent vests work near temporary barricades, while on the other side, the already narrow road is packed with buses, cars, auto rickshaws, bikes, scooters, e-rickshaws, mules, and pedestrians. The sound of an ambulance siren frequently cuts through the noise.
Local men, who typically gather on the low platform outside the gate's now-locked grilled entrance to gossip or pat stray dogs, watch the activity. Their daily gatherings may be difficult to sustain once traffic begins to flow overhead on the completed structure.
A Gateway's History
The gateway is named for the Sufi saint Hazrat Shah Turkman Bayabani, whose shrine is located nearby. During the Mughal era, people passed through this gateway to enter or leave the Walled City of Shahjahanabad. At night, its wooden doors would be closed and guarded by armed men holding flaming torches. Those wooden doors are long gone.
Turkman Gate is one of the few surviving gateways from the original stone wall that enclosed the Walled City. For years, it stood as a clear landmark and entrance to Old Delhi for anyone arriving from the broader roads outside, a view that remained largely unchanged even after the Delhi Metro's underground lines were built.
Disrupting the Status Quo
The ongoing construction has intensified the area's notorious congestion, especially during rush hours. Labourers at the site say the structure is a flyover. Three men playing ludo inside a parked auto rickshaw added that it "will go straight to New Delhi railway station."
The finished elevated road will fundamentally alter the visual and experiential status quo. The clear view of the historic gateway from a distance will be disrupted. One day, a car will speed along the new road. Someone inside might glance down at the gateway and the old city beyond. Or they might not.
The project shows a constant tension in rapidly developing cities: modern infrastructure meeting historic preservation. The flyover promises easier crossings in a perpetually clogged area. Its shadow will forever fall on a monument that once marked a city's boundary with torchlight and guarded doors.
