PWD to revamp 170 key junctions across Delhi, improve road safety

Officials said that as part of the redevelopment, PWD will improve the pavement design, revamp the central verge, and place legible signage

Delhi’s Public Works Department (PWD) has formed a road safety engineering cell that will work to revamp 170 road junctions across the Capital, officials aware of the matter said, adding that the project is scheduled to take place in phases. Work has already started at Burari and Mukundpur junctions, officials said.

The officials said the project is based on data collected as part of a 2023 IIT-Delhi audit on road safety, conducted following directions by the Supreme Court committee on road safety. (Sanjeev Verma/HT PHOTO)

Officials said that as part of the redevelopment, PWD will improve the pavement design, revamp the central verge, and place legible signage, among other enhancements. The executive engineers will submit their list of junctions in the next meeting.

The officials said the project is based on data collected as part of a 2023 IIT-Delhi audit on road safety, conducted following directions by the Supreme Court committee on road safety.

The road safety engineering cell, which comprises a superintending engineer as a nodal officer and three other executive engineers as members, was formed by PWD special secretary Shashanka Ala on June 27, who noted that “little or no progress was noticed” in implementing road safety measures as suggested in the IIT audit.

According to the initial plan of the cell, in the first phase, each of the 17 executive engineers in the PWD roads division will be given three junctions each, where road safety measures will be taken up over the next three months.

“We plan to initially entrust three junctions to each of the 17 executive engineers. Apart from the suggestions given in the audit, the engineers and their teams will survey the ground situation and come up with a list of all the improvement work required. At some places, minor changes such as signage improvements are underway,” said a senior PWD official, on condition of anonymity.

A second official said the IIT audit had found that only 25% of the pavements along the 1,400km of PWD roads were usable in terms of the surface condition, and just 16% were wide enough as per norms defined by the India Road Congress (IRC).

“At some places, pavements don’t have ramps for access by wheelchairs. At other places the tactile tiles have either come off or are being obstructed. There is encroachment in some areas, making it difficult for pedestrians to use. At some junctions, there is no gap in the central verge, which acts like a traffic island for pedestrians who have to wait before crossing the road,” said the second PWD official.

Also, absence of signage or faulty signage need to be replaced, and road markings and hidden signages need to be made more prominent, the second official added, noting that according to the IIT audit, only 31%of signage on PWD roads adhered to IRC (Indian Roads Congress) standards.

Experts say that improving junction geometry and the visibility in the vicinities have to be integral parts of the revamp process. “Around 35% of all fatal crashes are reported around junctions, which is around 22% in urban areas. So, authorities should focus on improving the geometry of the junctions. For example, the turning radius of all arms of junctions need to be reviewed,” Dr S Velmurugan, chief scientist and head of traffic engineering and safety division, Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), said.

“Also, visibility funnel should be kept in mind. This means that anyone travelling on one arm of the junction should be able to clearly see minimum 100 metres on all other approaches or arms,” he said.

Velmurugan said that most crashes at junctions take place during lean traffic hours, when there is possibility of speeding. In such instances, less visibility can lead to fatal crashes that need to be avoided by design. He said that many junctions in Delhi’s PWD areas have a flyover starting or ending near it.

“There are U-turns near such junctions that have to be properly designed and clearly demarcated through signage,” he said.