Delhi: Cave-in on Mathura Road worsens Ashram mess

Work on an underpass at the key traffic artery resumed on Monday with the Commission for Air Quality Management lifting the ban on construction work imposed due to the poor air quality in the city.

Resumption of construction work, a road cave-in near the Bhogal flyover, lack of signage, poor site management, barricades installed for the extension of the flyover, and inadequate deployment of traffic police officials have come together to exacerbate the traffic mess at the Ashram Chowk, Delhi’s busiest intersection.

Ashram is Delhi’s busiest traffic intersection. (Sanjeev Verma/HT)

Work on an underpass at the key traffic artery resumed on Monday with the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) lifting the ban on construction work imposed due to the poor air quality in the city.

The underpass, which has missed five deadlines already, is scheduled to be ready by the end of the month. However, a senior Public Works Department (PWD) official said they will need at least 30-40 days to finish work.

During a spot check on Monday evening, HT found that it was taking up to 45 minutes for commuters to cross the stretch due to a series of bottlenecks.

First, one carriageway on Mathura Road towards Jangpura was blocked for traffic due to a cave-in on the Bhogal flyover. The entire traffic load was being managed through a second carriageway by placing sandbags in the middle of the road, and the ensuing blockade had a ripple effect on traffic from Lajpat Nagar flyover.

A Delhi traffic police officer said eight personnel have been deployed to manage the situation.

“The carriageway on the Bhogal flyover leading towards Jangpura has been damaged due to a cave-in, and the site is likely to be repaired in a day or two. We have been forced to block the left turn for traffic from Lajpat Nagar towards Jangpura,” the official said.

The second pain point is the patchy road towards Sarai Kale Khan after traffic descends the Ashram flyover. The road has been in a poor shape for over a month now, and has become a bottleneck with barricades placed for the ongoing work on the extension of the Ashram flyover up to the Delhi-Noida Direct (DND) flyway. Here, traffic slows down as it branches left towards Sarai Kale Khan and straight towards to DND.

Ashram, which connects south and central Delhi and virtually serves as the link between two NCR cities — Noida and Faridabad — sees over 350,000 vehicles every day during peak rush hours in the morning and evening.

Dr S Velmurugan, chief scientist, Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), said he has witnessed first-hand the chaos at the intersection, and added that all stakeholders including the contractor, the traffic police, and PWD were responsible for the mess. “There are no signboards to direct the traffic movement. There are no temporary diversion boards 300-400m ahead to the site,” he said.

He said that not only was the site management poor, adequate personnel have not been deployed to guide the traffic through several barriers. “In a bid to increase the pace of the project, PWD should work at night, when the traffic volume is low and deploy additional staff to quickly finish work on the underpass,” he added.

A senior traffic police officer, who asked not to be named, said they have written several letters to PWD asking the agency to expedite the project. “They have been assuring us that the project will be completed soon for the last four months, but the progress on the ground does not inspire confidence,” the officer said.

The officer added that due to the road cave-in repair near the CGO complex, they have diverted the movement of heavy vehicles.

“We have also diverted 12 DTC bus routes to ease the load on the intersection. Trucks cannot be diverted to Aurobindo Marg as it leads to New Delhi, what option are we left with,” the DTP official argued.

A senior PWD official overseeing the project said the project is likely to take 30-40 days to complete. “The additional barricades which have been placed to facilitate the realignment of retention wall will be removed in 7 to 9 days. This will ease the congestion to some extent,” said the official, who asked not to be named.

Rameshwar Dutt, 47, a commuter who was headed towards Noida from Lajpat Nagar on Monday, said he accounts for an extra hour while commuting in the evening. “It is the same harrowing experience for the last two years. People are forced to waste hours at Ashram. Authorities should try to quicken the pace of work, at the very least,” Dutt said.