HSIIDC puts NH-48 Shankar Chowk traffic revamp on hold for RRTS project

The ₹19.8 crore plan included wider service roads, new traffic circulation and pedestrian upgrades but was withdrawn after the RRTS station layout was cleared.

The Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) has put on hold its traffic re-circulation plan to decongest the 1.5km stretch between Shankar Chowk and Shyam Chowk along the Delhi-Gurugram (NH48) expressway due to the proposed Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor, officials said on Sunday.

Officials said the redesign will now be aligned with station entry and exit points, projected traffic demand and metro expansion at Shankar Chowk. (HT)

The ₹19.8 crore project, for which HSIIDC invited bids in April, proposed widening existing service roads from 7 metres to 14 metres, reversing one-way traffic circulation from Jaipur towards Delhi, improving merge and turning geometry, and shifting pedestrian movement to a grade-separated multi-level foot-over-bridge (FOB). Officials said the tender proceedings were withdrawn after RRTS planning entered its final stages.

A senior HSIIDC official, requesting anonymity, said the proposal, prepared in January to improve traffic flow in Udyog Vihar and decongest NH48 near Shankar Chowk, was submitted to the corporation’s headquarters in Panchkula. “After the government’s clearance to the RRTS station layout in March, the proposal was put on hold to assess changing traffic dynamics at Shankar Chowk through metro expansion. The final design will be aligned with the station’s layout, entry- and exit-points and projected traffic demand,” the official said.

According to traffic engineering centre surveys, nearly 4,000 vehicles and 1,000 pedestrians use the Shankar Chowk interchange every 15 minutes during peak hours. HSIIDC had also proposed channelisation for vehicles leaving Udyog Vihar, a smoother turning radius at the Cyber City U-turn and traffic islands to reduce queue spillback, officials said.

Officials said pedestrian safety measures have been partly implemented through a nearly 640-metre multi-level FOB connecting Cyber City Metro Station and Atrium Place. A private contractor, requesting anonymity, said safety railings and elevators are likely to be completed in August. Traffic police data showed 24 crashes since 2023, leaving 10 people dead and 22 injured. Police said manual enforcement, lane segregation and new U-turns introduced in June remain in place.