Lucknow MLA writes to Gadkari, seeks elevated road to end snarls on DND Flyway in Noida
Road experts believe that an elevated road is the only option to decongest the stretch as the vehicular population is rising by the year
With a view to end the severe traffic congestion on the stretch from Delhi-Noida-Direct (DND) Flyway to Mahamaya flyover in Noida, Sarojini Nagar (Lucknow district) MLA Dr Rajeshwar Singh has written to Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari and chief minister Yogi Adityanath, seeking the construction of an elevated road connecting DND Flyway to Noida-Greater Noida Expressway.
Gadkari in response to Singh’s letter said, “I am having the matter looked into for action.”
The stretch from DND Flyway to Mahamaya Flyover sees frequent snarls as the eight-lane road (the flyway) suddenly narrows down into four lanes and the traffic at that point diverges towards three different directions.
Road experts believe that an elevated road is the only option to decongest the stretch as the vehicular population is rising by the year.
“To decongest the area and deal with the traffic congestion problem on DND Flyway, more elevated roads are needed in the future,” said Dr S Velmurugan, director and chief scientist (HOD), traffic engineering and safety, Central Road Research Institute.
In his letter, MLA Singh, who is also the husband of Gautam Budh Nagar police commissioner Laxmi Singh, said the congestion was causing extreme difficulty to everyday commuters.
“Since 2001, when the DND Flyway was opened to the public, the population has increased multiple times and spread to Greater Noida also. Due to the increase in traffic, the loop road from the DND Flyway connecting Noida and Greater Noida (towards Mahamaya flyover) is causing extreme difficulty to everyday commuters. This is the junction where the traffic coming from Mayur Vihar side moves towards Noida and Greater Noida. Traffic coming from Noida to Greater Noida also merges there, resulting in gridlock,” Singh said in his letter.
To cross the 5km stretch, commuters usually spend about 40 to 50 minutes daily, according to the Noida traffic police. They said this was because the DND loop was made to support a traffic load of around 80,000 vehicles, but it currently supports more than 300,000 vehicles every day.
“Greater Noida is a growing business and industrial hub in the National Capital Region (NCR), and it is in the interest of the nation to ease the vehicular movement in the area, attracting investors and industrialists to open their establishments. Therefore, there is an imminent need to construct an elevated road connecting DND Flyway to Noida-Greater Noida Expressway. This will provide separate passage for commuters going to Noida and Greater Noida,” reads the letter.
“An elevated road from DND Flyway to Mahamaya flyover is needed because once the Jewar airport is opened (by April 2025), the situation on the DND loop in Noida will worsen,” said a senior traffic police officer, asking not to be named.
According to traffic police, an elevated road is already being constructed from Chilla border to Mahamaya flyover is at an estimated cost of around ₹937 crore.
Abhay Pratap Shrivastava, under secretary, Uttar Pradesh government, also instructed the state public works department to take necessary action in the matter.