Diversions choke up NH-48, spillover jams other routes in Delhi

Delhi traffic police officers, however, underlined that the traffic situation was better than on Tuesday, adding that more personnel have been deployed along the stretch to ease vehicular movement.

A day after an 800-metre stretch of the National Highway 48 (NH-48) was shut and traffic diverted on to two slip roads, travellers heading from Delhi towards Gurugram faced a taxing commute on Wednesday, especially during the evening rush hours, even as surrounding stretches bore some of the brunt of the spillover vehicle load.

Traffic jam on the Gurugram-Delhi expressway at the Delhi border in Gurugram on Wednesday. (PTI)

Delhi traffic police officers, however, underlined that the traffic situation was better than on Tuesday, adding that more personnel have been deployed along the affected stretch to ease vehicular movement.

The Delhi Police on Tuesday shut a stretch of the NH-48 between Rangpuri and Rajokri to allow the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to construct two underpasses, linking the highway with the upcoming Dwarka Expressway, as well as a flyover passing above the two underpasses. The project is likely to take 90 days.

Travel times for commuters were also worsened by the closure of the Chirag Delhi flyover, 15km away, with people heading from parts of south and east Delhi towards Gurugram spending significantly longer on the road than they usually would.

Sonia Lamba, who lives in Sarai Rohilla in Delhi and teaches in a government school in old Gurugram, said she was late for class due to the congestion on NH-48.

“The situation on Wednesday was just as bad as a day ago. There were no cabs available in the morning and at least four drivers on ride-hailing apps cancelled their rides,” she said.

Deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Aalap Patel said the traffic situation was better on Wednesday, due to better awareness and more personnel being deployed. “We have doubled our manpower on the affected stretch of NH-48 and on the diverted routes... We have also identified problematic spots and deployed traffic personnel,” Patel said.

A senior Delhi traffic police officer, who asked not to be named, said, “The only choke points on the entire NH-48 stretch are those where traffic is diverted to the slip road from the main highway, and then at the point where the traffic merges again with the NH-48.”

Officers and commuters said while some snarls were witnessed on the highway during the morning peak hours, an increased number of vehicles led to congestion on routes such as Mehrauli-Gurgaon (MG) Road.

Sunita Joshi, a resident of Gurugram’s DLF Phase 1, said she was driving from Vasant Vihar to her house and took MG Road, but the drive was 45 minutes longer than normal.

Gurugram’s deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Virender Singh Sangwan said Gurugram police teams at MG Road and Kapashera have been directed to send videos and pictures to a control room at 15-minute intervals during peak hours to keep a check on the traffic situation.

Many people who regularly travel between Gurugram and the Capital said after Tuesday’s jams, they switched to the Metro.

Shweta Sharma, a senior executive of a multinational professional services network and a resident of Mayapuri in Delhi, said on Tuesday evening, her office advised its employees to travel by Metro instead of cabs.