Gurgaon: Commuters trade risk for convenience as they take illegal turn on e-way

As the construction of an underpass at the Signature Tower has reached an advanced stage, officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), last week, barricaded a section of the road opposite Crowne Plaza hotel.

To avoid congestion and save time and travelling distance, commuters on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway are putting lives of others in danger by taking an illegal turn before Star Mall owing to route diversions at Signature Tower.

Many commuters drive on the expressway and take an illegal U-turn at the point where the overhead flyover at Signature Tower ends. (Sanjeev Verma/HT PHOTO)

As the construction of an underpass at the Signature Tower has reached an advanced stage, officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), last week, barricaded a section of the road opposite Crowne Plaza hotel.

This led to the straight road from Maharana Pratap Chowk towards Huda City Centre Metro station and the right turn towards Jaipur being blocked, forcing commuters to turn left at the traffic safety park and drive along Leisure Valley Road to reach Huda City Centre Metro station or Signature Tower.

With the arterial roads not equipped to handle such a large volume of traffic, snarls have become a regular affair. In a bid to escape this congestion, save time and cut down on extra travel, many commuters drive on the expressway and take an illegal U-turn at the point where the overhead flyover at Signature Tower ends.

The point where commuters are taking the U-turn rather is meant to serve as a link to the Gurgaon expressway.

Taking an ill-advised U-turn has put the lives of those travelling at high speed on the expressway at risk, as they are unaware of vehicles that are not only attempting to take an U-turn, but are also hindering the movement of cars trying to get on the expressway from the service lane.

“Why would I travel an extra 4 km, waste 15 minutes and drive through congestion, instead of taking a U-turn? If authorities are blocking routes, they should provide viable alternatives as well,” a driver with an app-based aggregator said.

NHAI officials said the diversions at Signature Tower will remain in force till the end of this year.

“We have received complaints from regular commuters and traffic police officials will be deputed at the spot to ensure commuters follow the normal route,” a spokesperson of Gurgaon police said.