The conversion of Golf Course Road into a high-speed corridor can proceed at full throttle after the biggest hurdle in its way was removed on Wednesday.

An underground oil pipeline that had stalled work for a year will be shifted into a utility corridor that is being built under the new road, a senior executives of engineering firm IL&FS, which is in charge of the project, said. The pipeline, from Mumbai to Bijwasan, converges with the project path near the Genpact crossing and runs along the rest of its length, which is about 4km. "It took over a year to complete the process (of shifting the pipeline). Finally, it has been cleared," IL&FS executive said.

The new road, a 16-lane high-speed corridor that connects NH8 to sectors 55 and 56, was planned at a cost of nearly Rs 400 crore but delays have raised the estimate to Rs 600 crore. Work has started along various stretches but the presence of the pipeline did not allow any substantial progress. The existence of the pipeline was pointed out by the project consultant in the planning stage. It starts from the sector 43/42 intersection, which is near the Genpact crossing.

"The pipeline runs in a zigzag manner along Golf Course Road till the sectors 55 and 56. It will be shifted into the utility corridor of the project," the executive said. The utility corridor will also have power cables which at present are along the road. "Because of pipeline, no digging has been done on the left side of the road. That work will start now," the IL&FS executive added.

The project is being jointly carried out by HUDA and IL&FS. Work to shift the pipeline will be done by the oil company. A senior HUDA official said, "The oil company has been informed about the shifting of the pipeline and we have also secured its in-principle approval to start work in a phased manner."

The high-speed road will be fully integrated with the Rapd Metro network, which will reach sectors 55 and 56 in the second phase.