New Delhi
The Barapullah Phase-III corridor was severely gridlocked just a day after its inauguration, with commuters reporting delays of up to an hour and traffic backlog extending for around three to four kilometres, as police cited seven lanes converging into three as the key reason for the logjam.
Commuters said that on the first day of operation, they took the much-anticipated route assuming it would reduce travel time, but ended up getting stuck instead.
“Got stuck for over 40 minutes going from Mayur Vihar to IIC across the river on the road that was just inaugurated. The jam extends over 3-4 kilometres,” said Amitabh Mathur, a commuter who took the route around 10am.
Another commuter, Gaurav Anand, said the stretch from Mayur Vihar towards Ashram had been temporarily closed during peak hours.
Another motorist, Sachin Raghav, reported being stuck for around 30 minutes. “What was the point of saying that it would only take 15 minutes when it had to actually take more than the regular time. I spent more than two hours only on the flyover today,” said Raghav, who lives in Greater Noida.
A senior Delhi Traffic Police officer said a large number of commuters from NH-24 and the DND Flyway opted for the new corridor, expecting to reach AIIMS from Mayur Vihar in around 15 minutes. This resulted in both NH-24 and DND remaining relatively free of their usual congestion, the officer said.
{{/usCountry}}A senior Delhi Traffic Police officer said a large number of commuters from NH-24 and the DND Flyway opted for the new corridor, expecting to reach AIIMS from Mayur Vihar in around 15 minutes. This resulted in both NH-24 and DND remaining relatively free of their usual congestion, the officer said.
{{/usCountry}}“Essentially, traffic from seven lanes converged into three lanes at the Barapullah exit on the Sarai Kale Khan side. It is likely to take about a week for the new traffic pattern to settle,” the officer said.
Additional traffic police personnel are being deployed at critical merging and exit points to regulate the flow and clear accumulated traffic.
The Delhi Traffic Police, responding to complaints on X, said the congestion had been noted and officers had been directed to assess bottlenecks, strengthen deployment and regulate traffic.
The Barapullah Phase-III project, approved in 2014 and started in 2015, was originally scheduled for completion in 2017. Land acquisition, clearances, construction-related issues and the Covid-19 pandemic contributed to repeated delays. Its original estimated cost of ₹1,260.63 crore was revised to about ₹1,635 crore. The 5km corridor connects Mayur Vihar Phase-I with Sarai Kale Khan and provides onward connectivity towards AIIMS and south Delhi.