Ashram flyover: Marshals deployed to halt heavy traffic

While clearing the flyover extension for reopening, Public Works Department (PWD) officials placed an overhead iron barrier at a height of 2.5 metres to discourage heavy vehicles from entering

Days after chief minister Arvind Kejriwal inaugurated the new Ashram flyover extension, heavy vehicles, which are currently barred from using the new facility due to the presence of low-hanging high-tension wires, are causing new problems from authorities.

Delhj chief minister Arvind Kejriwal inaugurated the Ashram flyover extension on March 6. (HT Photo)

While clearing the flyover extension for reopening, Public Works Department (PWD) officials placed an overhead iron barrier at a height of 2.5 metres to discourage heavy vehicles from entering. However, several such vehicles, misjudging the height of the barrier, have rammed into it, officials aware of the matter said on Monday, prompting the department to deploy marshals at both ends of the stretch to stop heavy vehicles from entering and to encourage them to use slip roads.

Kejriwal had inaugurated the flyover extension on March 6. However, the main carriageway of the six-lane flyover is out-of-bounds for heavy vehicles as well commuters coming from Sarai Kale Khan till the high-tension wires near the DND end are moved. PWD is expected to complete the pending works over the next month and a half.

A PWD official associated with the project said the department has witnessed cases of heavy vehicles trying to enter the corridor on an everyday basis, adding that the overhead barrier was damaged by March 7.

“Tempos and medium goods carrying vehicles collide with the iron bar almost on an everyday basis. We have repaired it on multiple occasions, and now marshals have been deployed to prevent such collisions. However, it would be very helpful if traffic police personnel could be deployed as they have the authority to manage such violations,” the official said.

A traffic police officer, on condition of anonymity, said, “The ramp is yet to be constructed and the presence of the high-tension wire makes the facility risky for heavy vehicles, so the barrier is a precautionary measure. But it is not possible for us to keep a 24-hour vigil at the site, and heavy vehicles sometimes sneak through, damaging the iron barrier.”

Visiting the flyover extension on Monday evening, HT saw stick-wielding marshals with neon vests were attempting to direct traffic at the key stretch.

“Buses and larger trucks don’t pose any problems. It is usually drivers of mid-sized tempos and minivans who start to argue about the restriction, which also leads to traffic jams right at the entry point of the slip road. They don’t realise that this is for their own safety,” one marshal said, requesting anonymity.

HT also found that traffic between south Delhi and Noida was relatively smooth, but commuters travelling from Sarai Kale Khan towards south Delhi had a harrowing time, with multiple snarls and choke points, especially near the entry point of the DND flyway and Lajpat Nagar underpass.

Naveen Sangwan, a commuter from Noida, said the defunct toll barricade at the entry point of DND should be removed as it was leading to traffic snarls. Pradeep Bhatt, another commuter, travelling towards south Delhi from Sarai Kale Khan, said, “We spent 30 minutes stuck in traffic. We hope the project gets completed soon,” he added.