Traffic police in Delhi has raised concerns over a Delhi-Mumbai Expressway exit towards Ashram as a potential “black spot” and warning of a “high risk of accidents” due to the sudden convergence of high-volume and high-speed traffic, despite a National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) safety audit finding that the stretch “safe”. The junction, where the new corridor meets Ring Road, was opened to the public on Saturday.
In a written communication, seen by HT, to the concerned NHAI project director on July 3, 2026, traffic police sought a comprehensive road safety audit of the junction before its opening, expected to be in August at the time.
When asked about the issue, the NHAI said that a safety audit had been conducted in May and the junction was found safe for traffic operations. “A pre-opening stage road safety audit of the concerned stretch was conducted by the NHAI’s safety audit team on May 18,” an official, asking not to be named, said.
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The observations of the road safety audit were compiled by the contractor and final recommendations, in which the stretch was “assessed and found to be reasonably safe for traffic operation were submitted on June 11”, the official further said. It did not share what the recommendations were.
{{/usCountry}}The observations of the road safety audit were compiled by the contractor and final recommendations, in which the stretch was “assessed and found to be reasonably safe for traffic operation were submitted on June 11”, the official further said. It did not share what the recommendations were.
{{/usCountry}}However, in less than a month, traffic police wrote to the central government agency sharing its concerns about the manner in which traffic from the expressway would merge with existing traffic on Ring Road.
NHAI did not respond to queries asking whether another audit was conducted after it received the Delhi Police letter.
A traffic officer deployed on the ground said the situation on the first working day was “extremely difficult.” He said: “The vehicular traffic coming from the DME is uninterrupted and at a high speed. Those en route from Sarai Kale Khan to Ashram or New Friends Colony are facing severe congestion during peak hours. Two people have been deployed during peak hours to manage traffic.”
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The issue
On Monday, the first working day since the stretch was opened, a traffic police officer deployed on the ground said the situation was “extremely difficult to handle”.
“The vehicular traffic coming from the expressway is uninterrupted and at a high speed. Those coming from Sarai Kale Khan and going towards Ashram or New Friends Colony are facing severe congestion during peak hours especially mornings. Two people have been deployed during peak hours to manage traffic,” the official said.
Traffic police had highlighted this issue in its communication to NHAI.
Noting that, five lanes of the new corridor of the Mumbai Expressway meet the Ring Road while moving towards the Ashram side, it said, “At this location, high-speed traffic is also approaching from the Sarai Kale Khan side.” HT has accessed the letter issued by the office of the DCP, traffic (southern range).
“Immediately after this merging point, the junction further bifurcates into two major roads — one towards New Friends Colony and the other towards Ashram Flyover,” it said. The traffic police specifically warned that the addition of expressway traffic could create a dangerous conflict point. “It is apprehended that high-speed merging traffic from the Mumbai Expressway at this complex junction may create a potential black spot from a road safety point of view,” the letter said.
“The sudden convergence of high-volume, high-speed traffic streams with multiple conflict points poses a high risk of accidents for commuters,” it added.
The police therefore requested a “comprehensive” road safety audit be carried out “through the Road Safety Wing of CSIR-CRRI or any other expert agency before” before the corridor is opened.
It also recommended that measures identified during the audit should be implemented to “ to prevent accidents and ensure smooth and safe movement of traffic”.
For traffic police, the issue clearly emerged once the construction of the route was carried out. While senior officers from the unit were looped in before the construction of the expressway, a Detailed Project Report (DPR) was not shared, as is usually the case, said senior traffic police officer. “Also, the staff on the ground know the situation better and they were - in all likelihood - were not informed or asked about it.”