Gurugram: Speed-calming devices set up at three points on Iffco Chowk

To check speeding and caution motorists of approaching sharp turns and high-speed corridors, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has installed ‘cat’s

To check speeding and caution motorists of approaching sharp turns and high-speed corridors, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has installed ‘cat’s eye’, a reflective safety and speed-calming device, at three points on Iffco Chowk, officials said on Wednesday.

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According to NHAI officials, the device has been installed at the two u-turn flyovers and the elevated flyover at the junction. Iffco Chowk is one of the most congested spots in the city, with traffic from the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway and Mehrauli-Gurgaon (MG) Road converging here. Several malls, corporate offices, Metro stations, and condominiums on Mall Mile are also in close proximity. Iffco Chowk is also a transit hub for buses heading towards Rajasthan.

The issue of sharp turns and high-speed corridors had been brought up on several occasions in district road safety meetings by road safety officials who highlighted that in the absence of speed-calming measures, vehicles travelling at high speeds were vulnerable to toppling off from the flyovers.

“We were aware of the potential problems that can arise from sharp bends and convergence of traffic from the elevated flyover against high-speed traffic on the national highway. After assessing various options, we opted to install cat’s eye as an effective solution. We have installed the device around Iffco Chowk, as these are the only points in the city where u-turn flyovers and the problems associated with sharp bends exist,” said Saurabh Singhal, consultant, NHAI.

A unidirectional u-turn flyover at Iffco Chowk was opened on January 1 this year to facilitate commuters moving from Sukhrali and Manesar towards MG Road on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, to help them avoid congestion at the junction. Around the same time, an elevated highway adjacent to Iffco Chowk, allowing commuters travelling from the direction of ABW Towers to head towards Jaipur by joining the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, was also opened.

On November 1, 2017, NHAI had opened a u-turn flyover, which allowed commuters travelling from Mall Mile to avoid the congestion at Iffco Chowk and take a u-turn to head towards Delhi. Both the u-turn flyovers are around 900 metres-long and cost the NHAI a total of around ₹70 crore to build.

Sarika Panda Bhatt, programme coordinator with Haryana Vision Zero (HVZ), said the recommendations to NHAI instead were to construct speed breakers at the three points and said the cat’s eye may not check speed effectively.

“We had made a recommendation to the NHAI to install speed breakers at the three points, but they argued that such constructions are not permitted on national highway, as per the road transport ministry. While the cat’s eyes are a move in the right direction, it alone is not a strong enough speed-calming measure,” she said.

“While no major accidents have taken place at the three-points so far, a safety audit needs to be undertaken as the existing designs, with sharp turns are unsafe for motorists, and preventive measures such as engineering changes need to be undertaken at the earliest,” Bhatt said.

Green belts at IFFCO Chowk fenced

Singhal said that besides installation of cat eyes, NHAI has also fenced green belts around Iffco Chowk as pedestrians opted to use the same to cross the road, against high-speed traffic, instead of using the foot-over bridges.