Traffic chaos on expressway spills on to service lanes

The lack of facilities such as foot-over bridges and underpasses makes traffic movement on service lanes hellish. There is no management of traffic on the service lanes.

The lack of facilities such as foot-over bridges and underpasses makes traffic movement on service lanes hellish. There is no management of traffic on the service lanes.

HT Image

Although the service lanes are supposed to be one way, thanks to lack of such facilities motorists from both directions use the same service lane triggering chaos.

The city traffic police do not have a plan for the management of traffic on these lanes on either sides of the expressway.

“If there are underpasses, then motorists would use them to reach the opposite side. Nobody would travel eight or nine kilometres to reach the other side. So they take a short cut: travel on the wrong side of the service lane,” said a motorist.

One cannot blame the motorists alone for the situation. Neither the administration nor the expressway firm had done anything to mitigate the plight of road users.

“Unregulated traffic triggers chaos and accidents. Apart from that it makes life miserable for the commuters,” said Mahesh Sharma, an executive in a private firm.

“There are many schools, hospitals and cremation grounds on either side of the expressway. If we have to go to the other side, then we have to travel more than eight kilometres,” said Nathu Singh, the former sarpanch of Mohammadpur.

“As per the earlier plan, NHAI was to construct four underpasses, including one near Khandsa. We have given an ultimatum to the Haryana government as well as NHAI to include Khandsa also or else we would be forced to protest,” said Singh.