New Delhi, July 8 -- More than two years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Pragati Maidan Integrated Transit Corridor, work on its last and long-delayed underpass is finally set to resume after the monsoon, Delhi's public works department (PWD) minister Parvesh Verma said on Monday. PWD officials said all technical preparations have been completed, and the department is now awaiting final clearance from the Union housing and urban affairs ministry (MoHUA). Once approved, construction of Underpass 5 will begin immediately, with an eight-month completion target. The underpass is crucial for completing the full loop of the corridor and resolving persistent traffic congestion near Bhairon Marg and Ring Road. "We've submitted the final proposal to the Centre. As soon as approval comes in, work will resume-hopefully within a month," Verma said after a site visit. The Pragati Maidan corridor, aimed at streamlining traffic in the city's central business and exhibition district, includes a main tunnel and six underpasses. Five are already operational, easing traffic along major arteries like Ring Road, Bhairon Marg and Mathura Road. The final stretch-Underpass 5-is a 110-metre segment linking Bhairon Marg with Ring Road. Of this, 82 metres have already been constructed, including a two-lane box segment for traffic from ITO to Bhairon Marg. Work on the remaining 28 metres stalled in 2023 due to structural setbacks. Flooding from the nearby Yamuna caused precast concrete boxes-pushed under an active railway line using the box-pushing technique-to sink. The failure, compounded by the complexity of the site, forced a complete redesign. PWD brought in experts from IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay and the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) to reassess the site. Based on their input, the department decided to abandon box-pushing and adopt the cast-in-situ method-a controlled technique involving on-site construction without disturbing overhead railway traffic. The revised plan comes with trade-offs. The originally planned three-lane underpass with a 5.5-metre clearance will now be limited to two lanes, with a height of 3.9 metres and a width of 6.25 metres-restricting use to light motor vehicles. The damaged precast boxes will remain in place, bypassed by the new alignment....