New traffic plan trial triggers major snarl at Delhi-Gurugram border

The new traffic management plan of the Gurugram traffic police fell flat on the first day of a two-week-long trial run as a major snarl occurred on the Delhi-Gurugram border. Intended to ease congestion, the trial instead created a long queue of vehicles waiting to enter Gurugram at Sarhaul.

This stretched for several kilometres into Delhi.

On normal days, the traffic jams here ease up by 11.00am, but today, there was chaos as vehicles going towards IFFCO Chowk were also diverted towards Ambience Mall.

The trial is focused on Shankar Chowk, a major intersection connecting the Delhi-Gurugram Expressway with Cyber City, Udyog Vihar and Ambience Mall. The traffic police initiated the phased trial to resolve long-standing traffic issues at the busy junction during peak hours.

As per the new traffic management plan, new barriers were placed near Ambience Mall. Specific lanes were designated for vehicles coming from Delhi with the rightmost lane being designated for vehicles heading towards IFFCO Chowk and Jaipur and the middle lane designated for Cyber City, Udyog Vihar, and Sikandarpur. The leftmost lane was designated for vehicles going to Ambience Mall.

A senior traffic police officer said that additional police personnel were deployed to control the flow of traffic from the border to Shankar Chowk as part of the trial run. He added that the trial run would last at least a week, after which its effectiveness would be assessed.

“A big signage marking the changed lanes will be displayed at the border. If drivers steer towards their lanes in advance, they won’t face traffic jams. In the first phase of the trial, traffic from Delhi to Gurugram is being streamlined. Any shortcomings will be addressed after the trial and this arrangement will be made permanent. Lanes will also be designated at Rajiv Chowk and IFFCO Chowk,” Rajesh Mohan, DCP (Traffic), said.