Gurgaon: Route diversion at Signature Tower leads to traffic congestion

Commuters in Gurgaon caught unawares with no prior intimation of the change

A new route diversion at the Signature Tower junction to make way for the construction of underpasses caught many commuters unawares on Monday morning and led to severe traffic congestion on the stretch.

With a number of infrastructure projects under construction in Gurgaon, route diversions have become the norm. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

Signature Tower is one of the most used roads in the city as it leads to the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, the Huda City Centre Metro station, Maharana Pratap Chowk, Fortis Hospital, DLF 4 and the Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road (MG Road).

Earlier, commuters travelling from New Delhi towards Huda City Centre Metro station or Signature Tower on the expressway could not directly travel on the slip road as an underpass is being constructed on a part of the stretch.

Instead, they took a left turn at the opening of the slip road and then took a U-turn to head towards Leisure Valley Road. They then had to take another U-turn to rejoin the slip road and head towards Signature Tower.

However, the U-turn to rejoin the slip road has now been barricaded, forcing motorists to drive along Leisure Valley Road to reach the metro station or Signature Tower. This has added to the distance travelled and time taken.

“I had an appointment with a physician at Fortis Hospital (located 2km from Signature Tower) at 10am, but could not make it in time due to traffic congestion caused by the new route diversion. I reached the hospital by 11am and had to wait another two hours to get a new appointment,” said Saurabh Kukreja of Vasant Vihar in New Delhi.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has been constructing underpasses and a flyover at Signature Tower since November 2016. Hence, changes in route diversions have become the norm.

On June 5, officials had blocked straight movement for traffic between Huda City Centre and Maharana Pratap Chowk and placed a diversion without issuing any prior advisory. That too took place on a Monday.

In January, diversions and barricades were erected on the road from Huda City Centre to Signature Tower for a road-widening project that turned the stretch into choke point for around two months.

NHAI officials declined to comment on the issue.