Speed limit on Parthala bridge slashed from 100km/hour to 60km/hour from today

In view of the foggy conditions that prevail during the winter months, the Noida traffic police on Friday said it will reduce the speed limit on the newly opened Parthala Setu Bridge and the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway, said a senior officer, adding that while the limit will be reduced on Parthala bridge from Saturday, that on the expressway will be reduced when the foggy conditions start. At both places, the reduction will remain in effect for the next two or three months, the officer said.

Currently, the speed limit on Parthala bridge is 100km/hour, while on the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway, it is 100km/hour for light vehicles and 60km/hour for heavy vehicles. The six-lane, 697m long Parthala bridge was inaugurated on June 25 this year.

On Thursday, the traffic police conducted a drive on Parthala bridge to detect speed violations and issued 70 e-fines to those caught speeding.

Deputy commissioner of police, traffic, Anil Kumar Yadav said, “The traffic place issued around 70 e-challans for speeding during the drive on Parthala bridge on Thursday.”

“Currently, there are two teams of traffic police conducting enforcement drives to prevent speeding in the city,” said Yadav, adding that the police will also reduce the speed limit on Noida Greater-Noida Expressway and Parthala bridge during the winter months, starting Saturday.

Yadav said, “From Saturday, the speed limit on Parthala bridge will be reduced 100km/hour to 60km/hour. Similarly, the traffic police, in collaboration with other authorities concerned, will also reduce the speed limit on the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway from 100km/hour to 75km/hour for light vehicles when the dense fog starts.”

At present, the city traffic police are helpless to issue e-fines for speeding on Parthala bridge as there are no CCTV or surveillance cameras there. On Thursday, traffic personnel issued fines after using speed guns and speed monitoring cameras to detect violations.

Police said they have written to the Noida authority regarding the installation of cameras. In September, during the MotoGP Grand Prix, a few cameras were installed on Parthala bridge for security purposes, but they were removed after the event got over.

A Noida authority official, in condition of anonymity, said, “The tender has been floated and within a month four to six automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) and surveillance cameras will be installed on Parthala bridge too.”

According to data available with Noida traffic police, they have issued nearly 1.4 million e-challans from January to November 2023, which includes 69,906 fines issued for speeding.

A survey conducted by the authority’s traffic cell revealed that around 125,000 motorists use the Parthala bridge stretch daily, leading to significant congestion at Parthala Chowk, where the Master Plan-3 road meets the Faridabad-Noida-Ghaziabad Expressway.