Nod to NHAI’s ₹18 crore plan to improve safety on Delhi -Meerut Expressway

The plan has been approved by the headquarters (in Delhi), and once the designs get cleared, the plan will take about 7-8 months to complete

Ghaziabad: The National Highways Authority of India’s (NHAI) has received go-ahead for its about ₹18 crore plan to improve safety and also the traffic flow on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway (DME), officials said on Tuesday.

The DME has entry/exit points at Bhojpur, Dasna, near IPEM College, and near ABES College on both sides, officials said. (Sakib Ali/HT Photos)

Under the plan, they have proposed to put up fences on both sides of the 15km stretch of the DME, install more signage and automatic number plate readers in the underpasses, and install traffic booths at the entry/exit points of the expressway, they added.

“The plan has been approved by the headquarters (in Delhi), and once the designs get cleared, the plan will take about 7-8 months to complete,” said an NHAI official.

The Ghaziabad traffic police officials said the entry/exit points of the DME to NH-9 have become risky and also led to the death of constable Vipin Kumar, who was hit by a speeding car at one of the exits near the IPEM College area on August 22 evening near Vijay Nagar. Police arrested two people on charges of murder after a live video of the incident surfaced online.

“We have held meetings with NHAI officials with regard to safety measures required, and they have sent a plan to their headquarters. Under the plan, we have also proposed to set up police booths near entry/exit points of the DME. Otherwise, traffic personnel are at risk while standing and managing the entry/exit points,” said additional DCP (traffic) Sacchidanand.

“Ever since the constable incident, we’ve asked our personnel to not manage traffic by standing on the expressway, and also decided that movable barriers will be installed at every entry/exit point at the earliest,” he added.

The DME has entry/exit points at Bhojpur, Dasna, near IPEM College, and near ABES College on both sides, officials added.

Officials said that traffic personnel are posted at the entry/exit points to discourage two-wheelers and tractors on the expressway.

“Two-wheeler drivers try to move to expressway lanes even though it is banned. Further, many commuters also lose their way to exit points and continue to drive on DME. Further, there is a heavy rush that ensues during peak hours and also during festivals. So, traffic personnel are deployed at these points,” said a traffic police official.

The NHAI said that the entry/exit point where the constable was killed was newly constructed.

“This became operational last year and was planned on residents’ demand. There is no infrastructure issue at this point. The traffic police manage these points to ensure smooth traffic flow and also to ensure that banned vehicles don’t enter the expressway lanes,” the NHAI officer quoted above added.

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