Greater Noida: Underpass planned to end Gaur Chowk traffic chaos

Residents, traffic personnel and experts blame the poor infrastructure, illogical turns, and lack of signages for the pile-up at Gaur Chowk

Traffic congestion around Gaur Chowk, that connects Noida, Greater Noida, and Ghaziabad, has become a nightmare for residents of Greater Noida despite the newly inaugurated Parthala flyover that was constructed to ease traffic congestion.

During peak hours, traffic is bumper-to-bumper from Parthala to Char Murti roundabout. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

Traffic heading towards the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, Crossings Republik and Greater Noida converges at Gaur Chowk and often results in snarls.

Residents, traffic personnel and experts blame the poor infrastructure, illogical turns, and lack of signages for the pile-up at Gaur Chowk.

A traffic office, handling Gaur City traffic for the last one year, said on condition of anonymity that “the structure of road and turns is creating problems for commuters as they move to Gaur City from Noida”.

“People often get confused on this route and causes congestion when they take a sudden turn,” the officer said.

The six-lane Gaur City road, which runs from Gaur Chowk to the Iteda roundabout, is the congestion point. It has a three lane main road and a three lane service road. Traffic heading towards Greater Noida from Parthala flyover uses the three-lane main road while the three-lane service road remains empty. People often park in one lane and drive on the wrong lane to take a U-turn for Noida.

“During peak hours, traffic is bumper-to-bumper from Parthala to Char Murti roundabout,” said the officer.

Before the opening of Parthala flyover, the traffic from Noida side was refgulated manually by traffic personnel.

But after the flyover opened, the traffic from Noida side was allowed free movement. A second traffic personnel said the Greater Noida authority needs to make a diversion on the six-lane road before Gaur Chowk for people heading towards Ghaziabad, and place clear signages.

Most people take the left turn at Gaur Chowk for Ghaziabad and that creates congestion.

“The roundabout at Gaur Chowk needs to be redesigned and the circle shortened to ease traffic flow,” said the second officer, asking not to be named.

Commuters described driving from Parthala to Char Murti “a nightmare”. “The four- to five-minute route takes 30 minutes, and even more if there is a jam,” said Manish Kumar, a resident of Greater Noida West.

Anurag Kulshrestha, president of TRAX, an NGO, said a few changes can give commuters relief from routine congestion.

“Firstly, there should be clear signboards for people heading towards Delhi-Meerut Expressway/Ghaziabad, and secondly, diversion around 200 to 300 metres before the Gaur Chowk to divert Delhi-Meerut Expressway/Ghaziabad traffic from Gaur Chowk,” he said.

“The service lane should be opening and exiting around 100 metres away from the junction with an exit in the middle,” said Kulshrestha, adding that there should be designated parking area for buses, e-rickshaws.

Anil Kumar Yadav, deputy commissioner of police, traffic, said they have written to the Greater Noida authority regarding routine congestion at Gaur Chowk. “During peak hours, we are forced to deploy additional officers to ease jams,” he said.

According to additional CEO, Greater Noida authority, Annapurna Garg, there is no short-term solution for Gaur Chowk.

Instead, an underpass has been proposed there, she said. “Underpass is the only option, and it may take at least 18 months. We have also started a survey for service lane issues and other road engineering issues there,” she said.