No end in sight for traffic nightmare at Ashram

Commuters complained that because of the main intersection being completely closed, travel time on the stretch has increased by at least 40 minutes.

The traffic nightmare at Ashram intersection is likely to continue well into May this year, with the Public Works Department (PWD) on Monday saying that diversions on the Mathura Road-Ring Road junction — put in place due to the construction of an underpass — is likely to stay in place for another 45 days at least.

Traffic congestion towards Ashram Chowk with construction on the underpass project ongoing, in New Delhi. ( Sanjeev Verma/ Hindustan Times)

The delay comes as multiple agencies work out of sync and will mean people coming from Noida and East Delhi via this route – one of the arterial connections – have little option but to spend upwards of 40 minutes (or more during peak hours) till the diversions remain in place in one of the Capital’s busiest and most important intersections. (HT Illustrations)

The PWD said that barricades from the Ashram junction, which has led to vehicles being diverted towards New Friends Colony on Mathura Road, will be removed only by May. The entire underpass project will be completed by end of June 2021.

The delay comes as multiple agencies work out of sync and will mean people coming from Noida and East Delhi via this route – one of the arterial connections – have little option but to spend upwards of 40 minutes (or more during peak hours) till the diversions remain in place in one of the Capital’s busiest and most important intersections.

A pile-up of vehicles waiting to turn right also eats into the space for those going straight to Lajpat Nagar. This route is often used by ambulances ferrying passengers to critical care facilities such as AIIMS and Safdarjung Hospital.

The Delhi traffic police, on the request of the PWD, had introduced a new diversion plan for the intersection from March 3, following which vehicles coming from Noida and Sarai Kale Khan now have to take a compulsory left turn on Mathura Road towards New Friends Colony traffic signal, located 600 metres away from the intersection, and then make a U-turn. Commuters can then take a left turn to go towards Lajpat Nagar on the Ring Road or go straight towards Nizamuddin or Bhogal. Earlier, vehicles could directly make a right turn towards Nizamuddin or go straight on the Ring Road at the Ashram intersection.

Commuters complained that because of the main intersection being completely closed, travel time on the stretch has increased by at least 40 minutes.

PWD officials, however, said the work on the intersection was “crucial and complex” and required restriction of traffic in order to meet the June deadline for completion of the 750-metre underpass connecting Nizamuddin Railway Bridge and the CSIR Apartments on Mathura Road. The project has already missed one deadline in December last year and is on course to miss its March deadline as well.

“We will take at least one-and-a-half months more to finish construction work on the central portion of the underpass, which falls right at the junction on the Ring Road, below the flyover. The nature of work here is complex because there are a number of utilities, such as water pipelines, that need to be shifted, beside deep digging work being carried out. The traffic on this portion has been diverted towards New Friends Colony so that we get more space to finish this segment of work as soon as possible,” a PWD official said.

Ashram, which is one of the busiest stretches in the Capital, sees over 350,000 vehicles passing every day during peak rush hours of morning and evening. The traffic situation, which was already chaotic before the new plan was introduced, has now got worse, especially for emergency vehicles moving from nearby hospitals. Currently, vehicular movement is blocked at the intersection, below the Ashram flyover, traffic police officers said.

“Because of the ongoing construction work, the traffic movement in Ashram has been hugely impacted. Hence, it is important that work here be completed fast so that commuters get some respite and space can be cleared out before PWD begins work on the extension of the flyover on the Ring Road,” a senior Delhi traffic police official said.

PWD officials justified the “complete blockade” as much needed to meet the June deadline. UTTIPEC — the apex body for approving infrastructure projects — had approved the underpass project in January 2016, which was to be completed by March 2018. The project finally got the nod of the expenditure finance committee of the Delhi government in 2018. On December 24, 2019, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal laid the foundation stone with a December 2020 deadline. This was extended to March 2021, and further till June.

“Ashram crossing is now a perennial choke point. For the last five-six years, I have been seeing some sort of construction activity here. Passing through this stretch has now become a nightmare. I now have to spend at least 30-40 minutes extra to reach my home from Noida due to the new traffic plan,” Preeti Pandey, a resident of Bhogal, said.

Subhash Chand, head of traffic engineering and safety division at the Central Road Research Institute, said traffic jams on the stretch is a result of poor site management by the construction agencies. “Even without closing the entire intersection, you can facilitate smooth traffic flow and also complete your work within the deadline. This can happen with efficient site management, which the PWD is ignoring. You are supposed to ensure that there are ample signage to warn commuters of the diversion. You also need to ease the traffic into the construction site, which is also not happening,” Chand said.