NH-48 caves in near Narsinghpur, 2 lanes shut; traffic snarls

Officials said the damaged stretch was above an ongoing GMDA stormwater pipeline project. Repairs continued overnight to restore all lanes by Wednesday.

A large portion of the road on the Delhi-Gurugram Expressway caved in near Narsinghpur at around 4.30pm on Tuesday, forcing the closure of two lanes on the Delhi to Jaipur carriageway and triggering massive traffic congestion on NH-48.

Traffic police diverted vehicles via the Southern Peripheral Road and Dwarka Expressway after barricading the affected carriageway for safety. (Parveen Kumar/HT)

Highway officials said the road was damaged at a location where the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) was laying pipelines beneath the highway to divert storm water towards the Badshahpur drain. An NHAI official said the damaged stretch has been barricaded and traffic marshals deployed to prevent any untoward incident.

The cave-in, which occurred in front of the Sun Beam Auto company, slowed traffic across the expressway, with vehicular movement coming to a standstill between Rajiv Chowk and Narsinghpur. The Gurugram traffic police subsequently issued an advisory asking commuters travelling towards Manesar and beyond to use the Southern Peripheral Road (SPR) instead of the Delhi-Jaipur highway.

Yogesh Tilak, project director, NHAI, said the authority’s team reached the site immediately after receiving information about the incident and closed traffic on the damaged stretch. “The road has been damaged in the middle, so two lanes on the expressway have been barricaded. We have also deployed traffic marshals to manage traffic, but the situation is really chaotic as vehicle congestion was already heavy due to rainfall,” he said.

Tilak said the road apparently caved in due to GMDA’s ongoing work to lay pipelines beneath the highway for diverting rainwater from one side of the expressway to a newly constructed drain connected to the Badshahpur drain. He added repair work is underway through the night. “We are working to repair the damaged stretch overnight so that all lanes are motorable by Wednesday morning,” he said.

Officials said rainwater seepage beneath the road during pipeline installation likely caused the cave-in, while emergency restoration work began immediately. (Parveen Kumar/HT)

GMDA officials said the Narsinghpur stretch has witnessed severe waterlogging every year for the past 15 years. To address the issue, the authority, with NHAI’s consent, decided to lay three pipelines across the highway to divert rainwater to a newly constructed drain at Radhakrishan Krishna Garden.

Vikram Singh, executive engineer, GMDA, said two of the three pipelines had already been laid. “The authority had managed to get two pipes across the highway, but while laying these pipes, two high-tension power lines were shifted, and due to that, rainwater seems to have seeped under the road, which led to the cave-in. We are on the spot and are taking immediate measures to repair the damaged stretch,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Gurugram traffic police issued an advisory on Tuesday evening stating, “This is to inform everyone that due to sudden heavy rainfall today, July 7, 2026, a section of the main NH-48 carriageway (Delhi to Jaipur direction) near Narsinghpur (at the 37.800 km mark, LHS) has caved in. To ensure smooth traffic flow and prioritise the safety of motorists travelling from Delhi towards Jaipur, the following route diversions have been implemented.”

According to the advisory, commuters travelling from Delhi towards Manesar and Jaipur should take a left turn at Rajiv Chowk and use SPR. Vehicles at Hero Honda Chowk have also been advised to use SPR, while commuters coming from Delhi have been asked to take the Dwarka Expressway to reach SPR, Manesar and adjoining areas.