Work at Naraina flyover to cause chaos in west Delhi
A carriageway of the Naraina flyover, leading from Dhaula Kuan to Mayapuri, will be shut for vehicular movement from Thursday for repairs, for around 20 days
A carriageway of the Naraina flyover, leading from Dhaula Kuan to Mayapuri, will be shut for vehicular movement from Thursday for repairs, for around 20 days, traffic police said. Both carriageways need to undergo repairs, indicating that traffic in the area will be impacted for around a month in total, officials of the public works department, which has ownership of the flyover, said.
Traffic police said they have taken measures to minimise inconvenience to motorists during the period, at least two senior traffic police officers aware of the matter said on Tuesday. However, traffic in western parts of the city, which is already contending with traffic jams due to construction of a subway and flyover and underground cabling work on the Ring Road near Bharat Darshan Park in Punjabi Bagh, is set to be hit.
“Due to the closure of the carriageway from Dhaula Kuan to Mayapuri, this route will be completely affected, even beyond the two points. As maximum traffic will be diverted onto the Ring Road under the Naraina flyover, the volume of traffic will increase on this alternate route, which usually remains choked due to its narrow driving space, locals shops, and traffic signals. Road adjoining the flyover will also face a high volume of traffic,” one of the officers cited above said, requesting anonymity.
The work may lead to traffic snarls on adjoining roads, such as Sardar Patel Marg, National Highway 8 that connects Gurugram with Delhi via Mahipalpur, Mahatma Gandhi Road (or Ring Road), Vande Mataram Marg, Cariappa Marg and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Road (Jail Road), the officers said.
In an advisory, Delhi Traffic Police said, “From May 1, carriageway from Dhaula Kuan to Mayapuri of Naraina flyover will remain closed for the commuters due to the repair of the same. During this period, the opposite carriageway from Mayapuri to Dhaula Kuan will remain operational for traffic movement towards Dhaula Kuan.”
Motorists driving towards Mayapuri from Dhaula Kuan have been suggested three alternative routes by traffic police through Rajouri Garden and Delhi Cantonment traffic circles.
In the first alternative, motorists could take Vande Mataram Marg from Dhaula Kuan, and turn left on Professor Ramnath Viz. Marg and take the left turn from Rattanpuri Chowk on Dev Prakash Shastri Marg. From there, motorists were advised to take a left from Loha Mandi T-Point on Goswami Girdhari Lal Marg and turn right from Naraina T-Point onto the Ring Road to reach Mayapuri.
The second route is through Cariappa Marg, onto Shaheed Bhagat Singh Marg (Jail Road) and further to Lajwanti Chowk, from where motorists can turn right from Satguru Ram Singh Marg to reach Mayapuri Chowk.
The third alternative is for motorists to move to Maude Marg from Delhi Cantt Metro station, take a right at Cariappa Marg to reach Shaheed Bhagat Singh Marg (Jail Road) and onwards to Lajwanti Chowk, from where they could take the right turn on Satguru Ram Singh Marg to reach Mayapuri Chowk.
As the volume of traffic, especially during the morning and evening peak hours, is likely to remain heavy on the stretch, at least 15 traffic police personnel will be deployed around the flyover and the diversion points to guide motorists. The number of personnel may be increased depending on the ground situation for the first few days of the closure, the second traffic police officer cited above said.
“We have also asked the agency concerned (PWD) to deploy a sufficient number of marshals to assist traffic police personnel regulate movement of vehicles and ensure fewer snarls. They have also been asked to put signage at different locations, displaying information about the repair work and the alternative routes,” the second officer said.
A PWD official said the repair must be done across the width of the flyover and so, both carriageways will have to be closed for around 15 days each. “There are three expansion joints that have become loose and are making noise. These will have to be replaced,” the PWD official said.
Expansion joints or steel plates are placed every 40-50 metres across the length of flyovers to enhance support. The nearly 1.5-kilometre-long flyover was constructed in 2010 and underwent minor repairs in the past. It has multiple expansion joints, three of which need repair, officials said.
Experts said that since the traffic situation is already complex in west Delhi due to ongoing works, repair of the flyover could have been delayed.
“When there is already work going on at the Punjabi Bagh flyover, this work should have waited till that was over. Usually, the traffic police give no-objection certificate for such routine work in a deferred manner and object if they think it will add to traffic pressure. In this case, the entire stretch from the Delhi airport to Karol Bagh may be affected, and the cascading effect may also be seen up to AIIMS and parts of the Ring Road. This is mainly because there is no alternative faster link,” said S Velmurugan, chief scientist and head of traffic engineering and safety divisions, Central Road Research Institute (CRRI).
Velmurugan said at least one of the three lanes of the carriageway should have been left open for traffic to minimise congestion.
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