Traffic snarls continue to plague Chirag Delhi crossing | Latest News Delhi - Hindustan Times
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Traffic snarls continue to plague Chirag Delhi crossing

Apr 02, 2023 01:51 AM IST

The partial closure of the second carriageway led to traffic snaking around 1km from the Chirag Delhi flyover, with spill-over congestions on August Kranti Marg

A day after the Public Works Department (PWD) partly shut the IIT-Delhi to Nehru Place carriageway of the Chirag Delhi flyover for repairs, commuters travelling from towards Nehru Place had to put up with 20-minute delays, and the resulting chaos led to cascading impact in nearby residential colonies.

Workers conduct repair work at Chirag Delhi flyover on Saturday. The repair work on the Chirag Delhi flyover, a key stretch of the Outer Ring Road, began on March 12, with a 50-day deadline. (Sanjeev Verma/ HT Photo)
Workers conduct repair work at Chirag Delhi flyover on Saturday. The repair work on the Chirag Delhi flyover, a key stretch of the Outer Ring Road, began on March 12, with a 50-day deadline. (Sanjeev Verma/ HT Photo)

Read here: Chirag Delhi phase 1 opens, partial road closure in phase 2

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The repair work on the Chirag Delhi flyover, a key stretch of the Outer Ring Road, began on March 12, with a 50-day deadline — 25 days for each carriageway. At first, the Nehru Place to IIT-Delhi carriageway was closed, leading to massive traffic snarls in the region with jams reported on internal colony roads as well as other arterial corridors.

If the first phase made commuting painful for residents of Chittaranjan Park and Greater Kailash-2, the current closure -- even if partial -- has brought similar misery to residents in Panchsheel park.

On Friday, work shifted to the opposite carriageway, and though the Delhi Traffic Police kept one lane open for light vehicles — the repairs are restricted to one lane — those driving from Hauz Khas towards Kalkaji, Nehru Place and Okhla reported delays of up to 25 minutes. The repairs are likely to last at least 15 days.

The situation was slightly better on Saturday, as most offices were shut, but the partial closure of the second carriageway led to traffic snaking around 1km from the flyover, with spillover congestions on August Kranti Marg.

Jasjit Singh, a member of the Panchsheel Enclave residents’ welfare association, said his neighbourhood is bearing the immediate brunt of the repairs on the flyover. “It has become much more difficult to come in or get out of the colony. Residents are complaining it takes them 20-25 minutes to enter the colony using the Outer Ring Road. We have closed several gates to prevent traffic from entering our colony.”

Chetan Sharma, the general secretary of the Confederation of NCR RWAs, said, “It is a nightmare to travel on Outer Ring Road. There was slight relief on Saturday, due to offices being closed, but PWD should start the repair work simultaneously on all the joints. The concrete settling time will still be the same,” he said. A traffic police officer said traffic marshals and traffic personnel have been deployed to manage traffic at the Panchsheel end of the flyover, and that heavy vehicles are not being allowed to take the bridge while moving towards Nehru Place. “Cars and motorbikes are taking the flyover route while heavy vehicles are being shifted to surface level. The overall movement may be slower due to closure but efforts are on to keep the flow moving. The situation is under control,” a senior traffic police officer said.

Read here: Delhi’s Mathura Road soon to be pedestrian friendly

SD Mitroo, a resident of Panchsheel Enclave C Block, said, “Traffic is absolutely mismanaged. Last night, at 10.50pm, there was total chock-a-block and people were arguing with (colony) guards to allow them to use internal roads. From Defence Colony, I took a U-turn from the Chirag Delhi red light and found that the situation at gate number 4 was terrible, with outsiders forcefully trying to open barriers. The traffic jam reached Panchsheel club… From Monday, it will be much worse. Citizens are suffering,” he said.

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