NHAI closes U-turn at Kherki Daula toll plaza in Gurugram

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Thursday closed a U-turn at the Kherki Daula toll plaza on National Highway 48 in Gurugram due to the high-risk of accidents at the spot, 11 months after this was recommended by a safety consultant NHAI hired under directions of a Supreme Court appointed panel.

The directions to close the U-turn were given by the Gururgam district administration, which appointed a duty magistrate and also deployed Gururgam police team at the spot, said officials of the highway operator Skylark.

The U-turn in question is on the carriageway from Jaipur towards Delhi that commuters use to go towards Manesar and take sector roads to Naurangpur, Badshahpur and Sohna Road. This turn is also taken by commuters going to Sectors 69 to 74 along the Southern Peripheral Road (SPR). Another U-turn, on the carriageway from Delhi to Jaipur, whose closure was also recommended, will be shut by next week, Skylark said. 

According to data compiled by Gurugram Vision Zero, Kherki Daula witnessed 28 crashes in the last three years before 2024 of which 12 were fatal. In 2023, there was one crash, in 2022 there were 13 crashes of which five were fatal and in 2021 there were 14 crashes with seven fatalities.

A senior NHAI official said that they had asked the Gurugram district administration to “urgently and immediately” close the two U-turns in April 2024 after the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) submitted its report that month identifying the sites as traffic black spots. They raised the issue again in the district road safety committee meeting held in December, citing safety issues.

Gurugram deputy commissioner Ajay Kumar, who is the head of the district road safety committee, did not respond to HT’s phone calls and messages seeking a response on this matter.

“It is on basis of the recommendations of the safety consultant that both U-turns are being closed,” the NHAI official said.

“Both these U-turns have been identified as road safety hazards by the safety consultant appointed by NHAI. Due to vehicles taking a U-turn there always remains a high possibility of accidents and it is to prevent these incidents that the turn has been closed,” said Kripal Singh, a senior manager of Skylark, the toll plaza operator

The Supreme Court of India appointed the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety (SCCoRS) in 2014 to monitor the implementation of road safety laws. MoRTH had notified the committee on May 30, 2014

The letter cited by NHAI officials based on which the U-turn was shut on Thursday was sent by NHAI project director, Dwarka PIU, to the Gurugram district administration in April 2024. It said, “Kind attention is drawn towards fact that Kherki Daula is a MoRTH identified Black Spot [ID no. HR-037 (2011-2014)]. From an engineering perspective, the reason for accidents at Kherki Daula was identified as U-turns (through median cuts) before and after User Fee Plaza at km 42.00 of NH-48. Thus, in view of the road safety of highway users and to prevent the accidents, support from district administration is required for closure of said median cuts and U-turns just before and after the Kherki Daula User Fee Plaza are closed/barricaded and the wrong side traffic movements are curbed.”

The letter also said that the matter is being monitored by a Supreme Court committee on road safety and immediate urgent action is necessary for closure of said median cuts. “As the matter is being monitored by Hon’ble Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety, an immediate urgent action is necessary for closure of said median cuts. Accordingly, it is kindly requested to appoint a Duty Magistrate for facilitating the placing of barricades/restoring the median in the vicinity of the Kherki Daula User Fee Plaza to reduce the accidents for this MoRTH identified Black Spot,” the letter written by NHAI said.

Skylark said that the U-turn was closed at 1.30 pm on Thursday after the district administration asked them to do so. “The decision was taken by the road safety committee and NHAI to enhance road safety, and had nothing to do with our toll plaza operation,” said Singh, the toll plaza manager.

On Thursday, at 1.30pm, the highway operator placed the barricades on the central verge to close the U-turn. These barricades will only be used to close the roads as these offer flexibility to the highway operator to manage the traffic dynamically, said Skylark officials

The act triggered congestion in the afternoon and later in the evening traffic jams as several vehicles who did not wish to pay the toll fees turned around and drove on the wrong side to return to Manesar and take another route.