Right turn at Udyog Vihar to be shut

In a bid to decongest Shankar Chowk, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has decided to introduce a compulsory left turn at CyberHub for commuters going

In a bid to decongest Shankar Chowk, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has decided to introduce a compulsory left turn at CyberHub for commuters going towards Udyog Vihar, once the elevated U-turn at the busy intersection becomes operational by the end of April.

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NHAI officials said that commuters would have to take the elevated U-turn, a move they expect will end traffic congestion at Shankar Chowk.

Ashok Sharma, project director, NHAI Gurugram, said, “With the opening of the Shankar Chowk elevated U-turn, we will restrict traffic that comes from the CyberHub and takes a right turn towards Udyog Vihar. Commuters will have to take a compulsory left turn and then take the elevated U-turn to move towards Udyog Vihar. This will solve the congestion issue at Shankar Chowk.”

The elevated U-turn at Shankar Chowk will facilitate commuters moving from Delhi to take a U-turn towards the intersection. Officials said that once the U-turn opens, they will also open a median in order for the commuters to move on to the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway.

Around 70% of the work on the elevated U-turn at Shankar Chowk is complete, while 55% work on the Ambience Mall underpass is nearing completion, an NHAI consultant said.

Saurabh Singhal, the NHAI consultant, said, “Work on both the sites is going on at the pace they had anticipated.”

Work on the project started last March, with a deadline of 18 months. The NHAI contractor said that they will finish the work before time. “We had a time frame of 18 months, but we will be completing the work in 15 months’ time,” said Singhal.

The exit ramp of the underpass (on the Delhi-Jaipur side) is nearing completion and steel plates to put the canopies have been installed, said officials.

After acquiring 1.22 acres from the Hindustan Insecticides Limited (HIL) on the Jaipur to Delhi side in December 2019, the NHAI has started work on the entry ramp of the underpass. The highways authority has cordoned off three left lanes (on the Jaipur-Delhi side) to complete the ramp of the underpass.

In the next 15 days, the NHAI contractor will start work on the middle portion of the underpass box. The contractor will cordon off around seven lanes in the centre of the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway to construct the underpass. “We will be closing seven lanes of the expressway to start the construction of the underpass box. The ramp on both the sides is complete and within a few days, the box portion is going to be made,” said Singhal.

The NHAI is likely to open the underpass by mid-May. NHAI officials said that the underpass will be well lit and there will be signboards, urging commuters to avoid speeding, which is a common problem at several underpasses in the city.

Commuters hope that the Ambience Mall underpass will help reduce congestion. Ridhima Saini, who works in Ambience Towers, said, “Every day, I have to take a U-turn at Rajokri and it usually takes me 45 minutes to make this turn. This underpass will save me a lot of time.”