Dwarka Expressway’s junction with NH-8 for traffic headed towards Delhi could turn into a traffic bottleneck when the road opens fully next year.
It’s a bottleneck now as well, but that’s because traffic is still being routed into the narrow service lane of NH-8 at Narsinghpur, while the junction is built. Dwarka Expressway is connected to NH-8 through the CPR, which includes a cloverleaf interchange with NH-8 and the Southern Peripheral Road.
The junction at Narsinghpur, which will see traffic from the Dwarka Expressway merge directly into NH-8 instead of the service lane once work is completed, has a space crunch. There is no room to widen it to the left because there are rows of buildings along the service lane. So, the merging traffic will directly eat into the space available on NH-8, which has three lanes.
When the city section of the Dwarka Expressway is opened, likely next month, it’s unlikely to immediately cause a problem because traffic volume is not expected to be high. But as the new sectors start filling up and the Delhi section of the expressway is inaugurated — which will bring high-speed traffic from the capital to this part of the city, the problem is likely to be felt.
The Dwarka Expressway-NH-8 junction at Narsinghpur will cater to traffic moving towards Cyber City, Udyog Vihar and 32nd Milestone, which are large corporate hubs that see thousands of people from Delhi coming to work every day. As of now, this traffic moves through the Sirhaul border. Once the Dwarka Expressway opens, that will change. A look at the design of this junction may be necessary before that to avoid a future choke point.
The narrow Narsinghpur service lane, meanwhile, has been congested for over a year now. “Unlike other service lanes where traffic is one-way, this narrow lane has traffic going in both directions, resulting in perpetual traffic jams. Even heavy vehicles like buses and trucks move in both directions. Traffic cops need to be present here to ensure smooth one-way movement. NHAI should repair this service lane immediately,” said Preeti Sharma, a Sector 37D resident.
DCP (traffic) Virender Vij could not be contacted, but other senior officers said they would “look into the matter”.
A senior NHAI official said he did not foresee a bottleneck once the carriageways are merged. “Traffic will be bifurcated towards SPR and other areas after CPR is opened, and not all traffic will go towards NH-8. The potholes on the service lane will also be filled,” NHAI project director Nirman Jambhulkar told TOI.
Source : TOI
