Safety ‘gaps’ found on all six NH-48 connecting corridors in Gurugram

A report reveals safety deficiencies at six corridors on the Gurugram-Delhi expressway, highlighting poor signage, lighting, and high accident rates.

All six connecting corridors to the Gurugram-Delhi (NH-48) expressway lack basic safety features – including pedestrian crossing infrastructure, adequate streetlights, missing road markings, and poor signage – according to a report filed by the district’s road safety committee.

The Iffco Chowk stretch on National Highway-48 flagged as high-risk (HT)

The report, prepared under the district’s zero fatalities initiative by the Union ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) and reviewed by HT, was finalised following a joint inspection on February 4 by senior traffic police, the regional transport authority, motor vehicle department, and officials of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) at Jharsa Chowk, Atlas Chowk, Iffco Chowk, Panchgaon, Sector 33, and Khoh.

All six locations under NHAI had poorly maintained signage and road markings, with most lacking proper delineation and highway access.

Four accident-prone locations – Iffco, Atlas, Khoh, and Sector 33 – where six to seven fatalities have been reported over the past three years, have exposed hard objects along road shoulders or kerbs, unsafe public transport stops, inadequate lighting, and no pedestrian mobility spaces, according to the report.

The report emphasised short-term traffic enforcement and long-term infrastructural improvements, such as speed calming measures, signage, and markings at entry and exit points. “NHAI site engineers have been tasked with demarcating all hard roadside objects within 2.4 m of shoulders, installing warning signs and speed humps in school and hospital zones, and introducing retro-reflective markings, reflective tapes, chevron markings, and road studs,” a senior official from DRSC, who asked not to be identified, said.

Wrong-side driving at five locations and overspeeding on all six stretches emerged as the biggest traffic violations leading to accidents. Illegal parking on road shoulders along the high-speed corridor was observed at Jharsa, Khoh, and Panchgaon. The report recommended targeted enforcement drives against speeding and installing physical barriers in a zig-zag manner to slow traffic on service roads.

Jaywalking and damaged footpaths were broadly observed at all connecting roads, while lane hogging by trucks or buses on the fast lane was most prevalent on two other stretches in Shastri Nagar and Gopalpur.

A senior NHAI official said routine safety audits and the third phase of Network Survey Vehicle surveys are underway ahead of the monsoon to address potholes, cracked surfaces, and uneven patches on NH-48, the Dwarka expressway, and connecting corridors. “AI-powered dashcam analytics for 360° monitoring of signage to identify gaps in road areas is also being carried out. Data visualisation reports identifying damaged patches and untreated median gaps are submitted to project implementation units for timely improvements,” the official said.

Traffic police data showed that of 1,024 accidents reported in Gurugram in 2024, 478 were fatal. In 2025, accidents rose to 1,112, while fatalities slightly declined to 472. NH-48 accounted for 247 accidents in 2024 resulting in 150 fatalities; in 2025, accidents decreased to 233 with 127 fatalities.