Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway: NHAI asked to redesign median at Sirhaul border

To reduce congestion at the Sirhaul toll, especially on the Gurugram-Delhi carriageway of the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, traffic police asked the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to realign the median near Ambience Mall the underpass and update signage.

According to the deputy commissioner of police (DCP) of the Gurugram traffic police, Ravinder Singh Tomar, the median located between the Ambience Mall underpass and Rajokri flyover has a heavy bend, which extends the road width on the Delhi-Gurugram carriageway and narrows it on the opposite direction.

The directions were issued following a joint visit by the Gurugram traffic police, Delhi traffic police and NHAI officials at the Sirhaul toll on Tuesday afternoon, to survey ways through which congestion at the border could be reduced. Tomar said that NHAI has been asked to realign the median and ensure both carriageways have similar road widths.

“Due to the bend, the road width on the carriageway carrying traffic from Delhi to Gurugram is so much that vehicles tend to not access three of the rightmost lanes. Instead, we have asked NHAI to straighten the bend and align it in such a manner that at least two more lanes are added on the opposite carriageway. We anticipate that the changes will reduce travelling time by at least 10 minutes during peak traffic hours,” Tomar said.

According to a mobility plan of the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), around 300,000 vehicles cross the Sirhaul toll every day. The toll is, by far, the most congested stretch in the city, and, at times, takes take around 25-40 minutes to cross it during peak traffic hours.

Tomar said that NHAI was also directed to update signage on the Gurugram-Delhi carriageway, depicting the direction and distance for terminals one and three of the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport.

“We observed that a large number of vehicles were driving on the leftmost lane of the Gurugram-Delhi carriageway just after crossing the toll. Upon inquiring, we realised that most vehicles were heading towards the airport and were unaware of the distance to each of the terminals, and their respective exits. We have asked the NHAI to update signage along the stretch accordingly,” Tomar said.

Tomar said that the updated signage will also reduce “zigzag” driving, which was leading to congestion and ensure lane driving is maintained. He said that the NHAI was also asked to put up signage at all foot overbridges falling between Kherki Daula toll and Sirhaul toll, stating that heavy vehicles must drive on the leftmost lane.

“We have asked the Gurugram traffic police to submit all recommendations in writing so that we can take up all matters with our concessionaire formally. Each of the recommendations will be individually examined and its technical feasibility assessed before proceeding further,” Nirman Jambulkar, project director, NHAI, said.

Last month, Gurugram traffic police launched a dedicated drive to check the movement of heavy vehicles on the leftmost carriageway of National Highway 48 and penalised over 3,000 drivers for violations between September 3 and 18.