NHAI, police begin to shut all illegal exits and entry points on NH-48

A recent survey found more than 50 illegal exits and entry points on the 40-km-long Expressway, and these were the cause of half of the road accidents here

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Gurugram police have started closing illegal entry and exit points on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway on Sunday, according to police officers aware of the matter, adding that all such illegal exits will be closed within 15 days.

An illegal entry/exit point on National Highway 48 near Rajiv Chowk that was closed on Sunday. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

A recent survey found more than 50 illegal exits and entry points on the 40-km-long Expressway between the defunct Sirhaul toll plaza and Kapariwas border, and these have been identified as the cause of half of the road accidents on the highway.

According to the Gurugram traffic police, at least 69 deaths occurred due to road accidents on the highway passing through Gurugram as of October 29 this year; 117 deaths occurred in 2022, 91 in 2021, and 124 in 2020.

“The expressway stretch in Gurugram has only six to seven legal exits. So, businesses such as petrol pumps, hotels, and restaurants, among others, illegally created entry and exit routes to provide commuters with better access to their establishments. They did this by removing or demolishing road medians and digging up the highway with earthmovers,” said Nishant Kumar Yadav, the deputy commissioner (DC) of Gurugram.

NHAI’s regional transport authority (RTA) in February carried out a survey to identify all illegal exits on National Highway 48, after which it submitted a report to the DC. The Gurugram traffic police then sent a report to NHAI, asking the highways authority to close these exits either by reconstructing the medians or compelling the offenders to do so, officials familiar with the matter said.

Authorities then decided to shut the exits by putting concrete slabs and erecting grills, and punish offenders. The decision was made at the monthly meeting of the district road safety committee, headed by the DC.

“We started closing all these illegal points on Sunday. If they are found open again, then first information reports will be registered against those responsible,” said Virender Vij, deputy commissioner of police (traffic). He added that these illegal entry and exit points cause many vehicles to slow down, forcing others to apply sudden breaks, which results in accidents.

A senior NHAI official said they had served notices to several establishment owners who created the illegal exits on NH-48. “The Delhi-Jaipur highway (NH-48), of which the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway is a part, was constructed two decades ago. These illegal exits appeared over time,” he said.

Sarika Panda Bhatt of Raahgiri Foundation, an NGO, said, “Illegal entry and exits on national highways are dangerous because they mess up the traffic and cause accidents. These unauthorised entry points create confusion, slow traffic, and make accidents likelier. NHAI needs to fix this problem quickly to keep people safe. In Gurugram, 70% of road accidents happen on these highways.”

In a related development, Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA)  will install height barriers on the master road in Sector 75 to prevent heavy commercial vehicles from passing through the residential area. Currently, heavy vehicles bypass the Kherki Daula toll plaza and make a U-turn, ending up on the master road and causing congestion near the toll plaza on NH-8.