Removing DND Flyway toll to create traffic mess in south, central Delhi: Expert
The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday ordered the removal of the toll booths at the Delhi-Noida-Delhi flyway. Though commuters welcomed the news experts said the traffic situation in south and central Delhi will be hit.
The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday ordered the removal of the toll booths at the Delhi-Noida-Delhi flyway. Though commuters welcomed the news experts said the traffic situation in south and central Delhi will be hit.
Dr S Velmurugan, senior principal scientist (traffic engineering and road safety division) at CSIR-Central Road Research Institute, said with the removal of the toll booth there will no longer be a controlled release of traffic into Delhi.
“The service time taken for vehicles to cross the toll will not be there now. Apart from this, now that people will not have to pay the toll tax they will prefer to take the DND-flyway. This will result in more vehicles coming on to the Ring Road,” Velmurugan said.
He said at the merging point of the DND flyway and the Ring Road there is no lane balancing. This means that the six-lane road suddenly becomes a five-lane road, which is likely to cause congestion on the stretch.
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“When a road meets another road, it is mandatory that the transition needs to be smooth. Here, the six-lane road narrows into a five-lane road,” he said.
Velumurugan also said that the merging point needs at least 200 metres of a seven-lane road for the traffic coming from DND-flyway and Sarai Kale Khan loop to merge without problems. If not this, setting up a traffic signal at the point will also help.
Delhi Traffic Police, however, gave a different perspective.
Joint commissioner of police (traffic), Garima Bhatnagar, said the removal of the booth is likely to speed up traffic movement and ease traffic in the area.
“We are expecting traffic to be smoother because cars will no longer have to stop in the toll queue. The opening of this alternative route will also distribute vehicles,” Bhatnagar said.
A similar debate took place when the Gurgaon toll plaza was removed in 2014. Experts said the traffic chokepoint moved into Delhi and continues to clog National Highway-8, Rao Tula Rao Marg and Dhaula Kuan.