Section Of Delhi-Gurgaon Road To Be Closed For 90 Days, Traffic Chaos From Day 1

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is constructing the Dwarka Expressway in Delhi-NCR, under the Bharat Mala Project. The Expressway starts from Dwarka Link Road near Shiv Murti on the National Highway (NH)-48, connecting Delhi and Jaipur. Due to the construction work, a stretch of road between Rangpuri and Rajokari is closed starting March 14, 2023, for the next 3 months. The Gurugram traffic police also issued a traffic advisory on diversions for people travelling between Delhi and Gurugram. According to the advisory, the traffic near the Shiv Murti intersection will be diverted from the main highway to the newly-built slip roads.

Commuters going towards or coming from Gurgaon or Jaipur may use the Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road, it said. Those going towards Dwarka, Kapashera and Najafgarh may travel via Palam Road from Gurgaon Road flyover. The commuters travelling from Gurgaon, Kapashera and Dwarka towards Dhaula Kuan and Vasant Vihar may take Dwarka Flyover Road No 201, the advisory stated.

Traffic Advisory:-@gurgaonpolice @IGtraffic_hry @police_haryana pic.twitter.com/qfE8L0gdz3 — Gurugram Traffic Police (@TrafficGGM) March 15, 2023

However, on the day one of the closure of the road itself, a heavy traffic was witnessed, irking commuters. The Delhi-Gurgaon Road witnessed heavy traffic on Tuesday and Delhi Police said it received several calls on its helpline about heavy traffic in the area, as reported by ANI.

"My office is in Gurgaon and it took me two hours to reach my workplace today," said Ravindra Singh, a resident of Noida. "I came to office today post noon and the road was jam packed near Dhaula Kuan. If this is today what will happen in next 89 days," Singh said.

The police took to Twitter to inform that traffic got affected from Dhaula Kuan towards Rajokari. "Movement of traffic is slow in the carriageway from Dhaula Kuan towards Rajokari due to traffic diversions along NH-48. Presently, it is taking 37 min to commute through this stretch," it tweeted.

Amit Kumar, who works in Gurgaon, said, "I left for my office around 9 am thinking that I would reach by 10 30, but as I crossed Dhaula Kuan, there was bumper to bumper traffic. "I was stuck there for over an hour. If this is the situation on day one, then what would happen in coming weeks?"

As seen on Google Maps, the Mahipalpur flyover on Delhi-Gurgaon highway was full of traffic jam. Also, users complained of the traffic signal at junction of Mahipalpur bypass road below flyover not working. Under this project, two underpasses and an elevated section will be constructed on NH-48. To execute the work, both carriageways of NH-48 between Rangpuri and Rajokari will be closed.

Arti Singh tweeted, "It usually takes me around 45 to 50 minutes to reach from my office in central Delhi from Gurgaon. In the morning, the traffic on the carriageway from Gurgaon to Delhi was normal, however, the vehicles were stuck in a jam on the other carriageway from Delhi to Gurgaon. I have checked in Google Maps which shows me 1 hour 35 minutes to reach my home. There is a lot of congestion due to the flyover closure. I am scared looking at the chaos. I think I'll have to start taking a metro to come to work now."