Delhi’s Dabri-Palam road widening to help ease congestion
The stretch had been witnessing snarls as the 150-feet-wide road shrinks to less than 20 feet at the point where the shops are located. T
With the widening of the Dabri-Palam road, over one lakh commuters using the stretch to enter Dwarka on a daily basis will now get relief from the gruelling traffic snarls, Delhi traffic police officials maintained.
A Dwarka court had, on March 14, vacated the permanent injunction it had passed against the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) in December 2016, restraining it from demolishing three shops in a building, situated in the middle of the slip road connecting Pankha Road to Dwarka.
The stretch had been witnessing snarls as the 150-feet-wide road shrinks to less than 20 feet at the point where the shops are located. The order, officials said, will help provide a much-needed route for entering Dwarka from west and north Delhi.
The widening of the road, traffic officials said, will not only ease congestion on the Pankha Road and Nala Road but will also provide relief to residents of Manglapuri, Dashrathpuri, and Dwarka sectors one, two, three, 11, and 12, who will now be able use the Pankha Road and ditch the incessant jams on the Dwarka flyover.
“At present, the Dwarka flyover is the only way of entering the sub-city. Commuters usually do not prefer taking the Pankha Road because of jams near Sagarpur. Moreover, the building right below the Janakpuri flyover also blocks access,” said a senior traffic official in the area.
The officer said removal of the shops will be a huge help in easing traffic snarls on Dwarka Mor. Vehicles turning towards Dwarka from Sagarpur are now met with the bottleneck below the Janakpuri flyover because of the building. From a four-lane carriageway, the road suddenly narrows to a single lane. The department has tried various measures to managing traffic on the stretch, and has finally placed barricades to direct the traffic through the narrow section of the road.
A senior PWD official said they will make a slip road on the stretch as soon as the land is handed over to them by the DDA. This will improve traffic flow and help manage spillovers.
Madhuri Kakoti, a resident of Dwarka sector 3, said though taking the Pankha Road from Delhi Cantonment is an easier way to reach her house from Delhi; she avoids the route because of traffic. She said, “The move will help people like her.”
Road design consultant Sudheer Upadhyay said, “We do not have enough entry points to Dwarka. Most alternatives are riddled with encroachments. If authorities can find a solution, the traffic situation will improve