New plan chalked out to decongest Hero Honda Chowk

The district administration and the Gurugram traffic police have prepared a joint traffic plan to decongest and check for traffic violations, such as wrong-side driving, at Hero Honda Chowk (HCC), which is one of the busiest and important junctions in the city falling on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway.

To decongest the junction, the traffic police is planning to set up spring bollards along the service lanes of the Delhi-Jaipur carriageway of the highway just below the HHC flyover. “The spring bollards will be set up in such a manner that it will create a dedicated U-turn. Currently, commuters wanting to head straight towards Narsinghpur or turn right towards Sector 37 occupy the right-most lanes of the carriageway, blocking access to the U-turn. The crisscrossing of traffic leads to heavy congestion at the junction,” said Ravinder Singh Tomar, deputy commissioner of police (traffic), Gurugram.

Officials from the traffic police said accidents occur at the junction at least thrice a week due to wrong side driving and around 20-30 challans are issued on a weekly basis for traffic violations at the junction.

Tomar said to check rampant wrong-side driving at the junction, eight high-quality CCTV cameras will also be set up at different points of HHC to check for offences round-the-clock from the traffic tower in Sushant Lok 1 and the GMDA’s Integrate Command and Control Centre (ICCC).

“CCTV cameras have helped us keep a check on traffic violations across the city. Last month alone, 20,000 e-challans were issued for traffic violations. In the second phase, the GMDA will install eight CCTV cameras around the junction, through which traffic violations, such as wrong-side driving, can be constantly monitored,” said Tomar.

According to officials of the district administration, employees of a private automobile company leaving their office around the same time is one of the key reasons for congestion at the chowk, especially during peak evening traffic hours. Officials said they will approach the automobile company next week asking them to relieve their employees from their duties in phases.

“We will be approaching the officials of the automobile company next week. Our main objective is to find a solution for decongesting HCC, keeping in mind the feasibility of the company and their employees,” said Ankita Choudhary, sub-divisional magistrate (SDM).

The district administration has been working towards finding a solution to decongest HCC and check for traffic violations since March this year. In March, deputy commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav formed a committee consisting of the Gurugram traffic police, district administration, and Raahigri Foundation to improve the traffic situation at the junction.

The Raahgiri Foundation is an organization supporting sustainable transport. “We are working towards finding the best possible solutions for improving traffic congestion and checking violations at HHC. It has been an ongoing process and accordingly, action will be taken based on the recommendations we have received. All changes will be first introduced on a trial basis before making any permanent changes,” said Yadav.