Roadblocked by planning

When a flyover was conceived on Ring Road at Ashram crossing in south Delhi in 1996, it promised significant improvement in traffic flow on the busy intersection and reduction in travelling time between east Delhi and south Delhi by 30 minutes.

When a flyover was conceived on Ring Road at Ashram crossing in south Delhi in 1996, it promised significant improvement in traffic flow on the busy intersection and reduction in travelling time between east Delhi and south Delhi by 30 minutes.

HT Image

Eight years since the flyover was opened for traffic, the intersection and its approach roads continue to be clogged and witness long jams during peak office hours.

Not only do Mathura Road and National Highway 2 that run on the surface witness long queues of vehicles, but traffic also
moves at snail's pace on the stretch, especially during mornings and evenings.

“It takes me just ten minutes to cross the Yamuna and touch the Ring Road near Maharani Bagh from my Noida sector 12 residence and then almost an hour to reach my office at South Extension,” said Vivek Kulshrestha, an HR professional. “It is so frustrating to drive on this road but I have no choice.”

The Ashram crossing caters to not only intra-city traffic between east and south Delhi and central and south Delhi, it also witnesses a huge volume of inter-city traffic moving between Faridabad, Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and other neighbouring cities.

With more than 1.50 lakh vehicles taking this stretch everyday, almost 50 per cent of which is inter-state, traffic experts say the volume of traffic on this intersection exceeds the current road capacity by at least 25 per cent.

“Traffic snarls begin at Okhla and it is bumper to bumper traffic till India Gate in the mornings. My left hand pains everyday as I keep the clutch lever pressed during the entire ride,” said Dheeraj Singhal, who travels between his Sarita Vihar residence and Janpath office everyday. “I overstay at my office in evenings only to avoid driving during peak hour.”

While a high volume of vehicles is definitely one of the biggest reasons for congestion at Ashram crossing, road and
traffic experts believe skewed planning, faulty road engineering, violation of traffic rules and encroachment are other factors that lead to traffic jams on this busy intersection every day.

After the opening of Ashram flyover failed to bring desired improvement in traffic flow on this stretch, the Delhi government added more flyovers (at Sriniwaspuri, Lajpat Nagar and Andrewsganj) on the Ring Road. The flyovers may have brought temporary relief at individual intersections, but failed at an overarching solution to Ring Road's traffic woes.

“There is a need for a holistic approach to find solution for the entire corridor instead of isolated intersections,” said P.K.Sarkar, department of transport planning, School for Planning and Architecture.

Experts believe proper road markings, putting up signage and shifting bus stops further from the intersection are some measures that can improve traffic flow to some extent.

“For a long-term solution, we are hiring consultants to suggest measures to improve traffic flow at Ashram crossing as well as the entire stretch from this intersection till Badarpur Border. If the consultants agree, we may even construct an underpass at Ashram,” said an official from National Highways Authority of India.