Traffic jams persisted on the newly opened Barapullah Phase-III corridor here on Monday, with motorists reporting long delays on the Mayur Vihar-AIIMS stretch. The Delhi Traffic Police in its post on X said the main bottleneck was on the old Barapullah flyover, where traffic from around eight to nine lanes is merging into three lanes at a single point.
Multiple Routes Converge To Cause Mayur Vihar-AIIMS Gridlock
The traffic snarl comes as the long-awaited October weekend comes to an end on Monday. Heavy congestion is affecting the routes between Ashram and Sarai Kale Khan, as well as from Mayur Vihar to AIIMS. According to the traffic police, the road heading toward Mayur Vihar has three lanes up to Sarai Kale Khan, after which it narrows to two lanes toward AIIMS.
Meanwhile, traffic from Sarai Kale Khan and the DND Loop, Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, Ashram Extension, and Maharani Bagh Road also converges on the loop via the slip road to head towards AIIMS. This results in severe traffic jams.
According to the traffic police, drivers will begin receiving real-time updates on Google within the next two days. However, installing signals and repairing the merger points could take more than a week. Until then, efforts are being made to control traffic by deploying staff.
How did commuters react to the gridlock?
Commuters travelling on the routes expressed their struggles of being in the congested area during rush hours. Reacting to the traffic jam, a commuter said, "Been in a bumper-to-bumper jam for the past 30 mins and have covered barely 2 km."
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Another commented, “Since structural anomalies are there, is there an investigation against the official and contractor involved in the planning, tender and execution? It involves public money.”
A third said, “The merging pattern highlighted is the main source of traffic congestion at many places in Delhi NCR. God knows how the planners do the design and get it approved. Such a waste of public money.”
The gridlock comes days after the Phase-III corridor was inaugurated on Tuesday by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and other Delhi ministers. The corridor was opened to improve connectivity between Mayur Vihar and the Barapullah network and provide a faster link towards South Delhi. However, traffic build-up on the new stretch during peak hours has emerged as a concern for commuters, with several motorists reporting delays since its opening.