Accident-prone U-turn on Golf Course Road shut for traffic

However, 100 metres away, an exit has been opened opposite a local eatery to ensure that traffic movement in the area remains unhindered, said an official of DLF that maintains the GCR.

The U-turn opposite Vipul Belmonte condominium on Golf Course Road (GCR), infamous for being prone to accidents and traffic violations, was closed for traffic earlier this week, officials said. However, 100 metres away, an exit has been opened opposite a local eatery to ensure that traffic movement in the area remains unhindered, said an official of DLF that maintains the GCR.

The U-turn opposite Vipul Belmonte condominium on Golf Course Road (GCR), infamous for being prone to accidents and traffic violations, was closed for traffic earlier this week. (Yogendra Kumar/HT PHOTO)

Besides causing inconvenience to residents of the condominium, the exit opposite Vipul Belmonte was being used by motorists — travelling from Khatu Shyam Mandir Road — to drive on the wrong side for 600 metres and access it to head towards AIT Chowk to save time.

Due to this, motorists travelling from Sector 53-54 metro station — using the exit to head towards Bristol Chowk — always ran the risk of colliding with vehicles coming from the wrong side.

Taking account of wrong side driving and problems caused to residents of the condominium, the authorities had closed the exit twice last year — on August 3 and March 10. However, the plan backfired on both occasions as the extra volume of vehicles at AIT Chowk — a roundabout — crippled traffic, resulting in snarls that took six hours and four hours to clear, respectively.

According to traffic experts, the AIT roundabout can disperse approximately 20,000-25,000 vehicles on a daily basis. The closing of the exit had increased the traffic volume to 40,000 vehicles. Hence, due to its poor carrying capacity, there were hour-long snarls at the roundabout.

However, authorities have opened an exit by creating space in the median opposite a local eatery to ensure the closing of the turn opposite Vipul Belmonte no longer affects traffic movement on GCR.

“Based on recommendations of the traffic police, necessary engineering changes have been initiated at the stretch. This has been a long standing demand. Following discussions with traffic police, it was decided that the turn would be closed, and another opened once the construction of the roads leading to Genpact Chowk were completed, as work at two points simultaneously would have derailed the traffic movement on GCR,” said a senior DLF official, privy to the development. DLF maintains the Golf Course Road.

The official further said the exit opposite Vipul Belmonte was closed with concrete jersey barriers as work at Genpact Chowk was completed earlier this week.

For residents of Vipul Belmonte, the development was a major relief.

“The closing of the exit will help deter those indulging in wrong side driving, as they will now have to travel nearly a kilometre to make the exit. This will help reduce accidents. The opening of the exit, 100 metres ahead, is beneficial for us as traffic moves at a slower speed there, making it easier for those travelling from sector 53-54 metro station to take a U-turn and head to Bristol Chowk,” said Anil Sud, president of the Vipul Belmonte residents’ welfare association.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (traffic), Himangshu Garg, maintained, “The stretch of road outside Vipul Belmonte condominium is extremely narrow, and hence is not an ideal location for a U-turn. This U-turn was a perennial cause of traffic congestion on this road. To ensure that vehicles making a U-turn do not impede traffic movement, the width of the road needs to be extremely wide. During a traffic review meeting held recently, both the GMDA and DLF were requested to shift this u turn forward to a point where the carriageway is sufficiently wide.”