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Dilkusha underpass bottleneck still a nightmare for commuters
Alternative road fails to fix problem; two-way traffic chokes at single-lane underpass, forcing commuters into a daily waiting game
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LUCKNOW The Lucknow Development Authority’s (LDA) efforts to ease traffic movement near Dilkusha Kothi have failed to address a key bottleneck, with an HT ground check on Saturday and Sunday (September 19-20) finding commuters still struggling to cross the narrow railway underpass during rush hours.
The underpass connecting the Pipra Ghat side with the Dilkusha Kothi stretch allows only one four-wheeler to pass at a time. During HT’s ground visits, vehicles approaching the passage from opposite directions were forced to wait for one side to clear before the other could proceed. The resulting queues caused commuters to spend several minutes waiting to cross the underpass, with the delay extending to around 20 minutes during periods of heavy traffic.
The underpass facilitates commuters travelling towards the Cantonment, Shaheed Path and adjoining areas. Daily commuters said the bottleneck has become a routine problem, particularly during peak hours.
The same stretch will also connect to the Green Corridor in the coming days where motorists will be given a service lane and could reach the Pipra Ghat side via the Vilayati Bagh route.
Alternative Rd fails to solve problem
The congestion persists despite LDA developing an alternative route near the underpass.
The authority had finalised a 450-metre road from Pipra Ghat underpass towards Vilayati Bagh, connecting it to the Dilkusha Kothi road. The project was estimated to cost ₹100.59 lakh and was intended to provide an alternative route for vehicles travelling from the G20 Road.
However, the ground situation showed that the new route has not removed the bottleneck at the existing railway underpass.
Vehicles continue to converge at the narrow passage, where traffic moving in opposite directions cannot pass simultaneously. This forces drivers to stop and wait, creating a queue that can spill onto the approach roads.
A senior LDA official said the authority had earlier planned to construct another underpass alongside the existing one under the green corridor project. The proposal was intended to provide separate passages for traffic moving in opposite directions and prevent vehicles from having to wait for one another. The plan, however, was later dropped
As a result, the existing underpass continues to handle two-way traffic through a single narrow passage despite increasing traffic movement in the area.
The bottleneck could become more challenging as traffic movement around the area increases. Residents living near Dilkusha Kothi said the authority needs to address the capacity of the existing railway underpass before traffic volumes increase further.
HT even tried to contact the LDA chief engineer Manvendra Singh for comments; however, he remained unavailable.
