U-turn underpass near Ambience Mall a major relief: Residents

Residents heaved a sigh of relief as the U-turn underpass near the Ambience Mall opened on Sunday, as it will not only help reduce travel time due to reduced distance, but also help them avoid getting penalised for violating the rules of road rationing scheme in Delhi during winter months

Residents heaved a sigh of relief as the U-turn underpass near the Ambience Mall opened on Sunday, as it will not only help reduce travel time due to reduced distance, but also help them avoid getting penalised for violating the rules of road rationing scheme in Delhi during winter months.

Commuters in Gurugram heading towards Ambience Island, DLF Phase 3 and Sector 24 said they have started saving at least 20-25 minutes of travel time during peak hours after the U-turn underpass opened.

The facility opened on Sunday on a trial basis. Commuters in Gurugram heading towards Ambience Island, DLF Phase 3 and Sector 24 said they have started saving at least 20-25 minutes of travel time during peak hours.

“Earlier, I had to cross the MCD toll in Delhi, drive through the service lanes of the expressway and then take a U-turn below the Rajokri flyover to head back towards Gurugram. This meant driving through the heavily congested Sirhaul toll, which could, at times, take over 40 minutes to cross during peak traffic hours,” Devendra Trivedi, a resident of Sector 24, said.

Trivedi said that the same journey took him around five minutes to cover on Sunday.

Several residents also highlighted that the opening of the underpass will end wrong-side driving violation, a common sight on the stretch between DLF Phase-3 and Ambience Mall on the service lanes of the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway.

“Back in November 2019, when the odd-even scheme was in implementation in Delhi, I was fined ₹4,000 at the border just for taking a U-turn to head towards Ambience Mall. With the opening of the underpass, entering Delhi is no longer needed and will help hundreds of Gurugram residents who were inadvertently fined in the odd-even scheme,” Harshit Shukla, a resident of Sector 70, said.

Sanjeev Gulati, a resident of DLF Phase-3, said, “At any given time of the day, vehicles can be seen driving on the wrong side along this 900-metre stretch. These are mostly e-rickshaws, autorickshaws, and cabs that drop off their fares near the mall, all avoiding crossing the MCD toll and paying commercial tax. With the underpass now opening, this should no longer be an issue.”

The deputy commissioner of police (traffic), Ravinder Singh Tomar, said that the underpass will help reduce traffic congestion at the Sirhaul toll plaza and assist police with managing vehicle movement.

“We are anticipating a drop of 25-30% in traffic volume at the Sirhaul toll plaza once the underpass is fully functional. After the trial period is over, we will depute marshals near the facility for at least one week to understand the traffic pattern and recommend changes if required. We are closely monitoring the situation,” Tomar said.