RTR flyover closure disrupts Delhi-Gurugram traffic
Traffic remained affected on the Delhi-Gurugram route as Delhi’s old Rao Tula Ram (RTR) flyover remains closed for commuters since Wednesday due to repair work. Craters on Delhi’s RTR flyover on Wednesday led to its closure for repairs, which has now triggered a series of diversion routes in Gurugram for commuters travelling to Delhi.
Typically, the old RTR flyover handles much of the traffic travelling from Gurugram to Delhi. The closure forced traffic onto National Highway-48 (NH-48), another major route for commuters travelling to South Delhi from Gurugram.
The reroutes, announced by the Gurugram traffic police Wednesday evening, were supposed to ease congestion on NH-48 by directing traffic to Dhaula Kuan in Delhi.
Alternative routes for commuters
According to the advisory, commuters travelling towards Delhi could take NH-48 and use the KMP Expressway as an alternative route. They could also take NH-48 towards the Narsinghpur Cloverleaf and continue via Dwarka Expressway and UER-II.
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Another option was to take NH-48 via Narsinghpur Cloverleaf, Southern Peripheral Road (SPR), Ghata T-Point, Gwal Pahari and Mandi Border to reach Delhi.
Commuters could also travel via IFFCO Chowk and MG Road to reach Delhi through either Aya Nagar Border or Bandhwari Toll. Another alternative was to take the route from Rajiv Chowk via Sohna towards Ballabhgarh. Those travelling from beyond Rajokri Flyover or from Udyog Vihar could use UER-II to continue towards Delhi.
Congestion builds across Gurugram
However, as traffic increased on Thursday morning, most of the alternative routes in Gurugram failed to ease congestion, instead becoming bottlenecks themselves.
Traffic congestion was reported from Rajiv Chowk to 32nd Avenue, on NH-48 towards Jaipur, near Leisure Valley Park, and from IFFCO Chowk to Udyog Vihar Phase 4.
Traffic was also moving slowly on MG Road towards IFFCO Chowk metro station and near Sikanderpur.
On the Faridabad-Gurugram road, a 3-km stretch from Ghata T-Point to Valley View Estate was also jammed on the carriageway. According to traffic police inspector Tanej Pal, who was deployed on-site, the congestion was caused partly by the rerouting and a vehicle breakdown.
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The congestion on NH-48 had also worsened due to restrictions on the entry of heavy vehicles into Gurugram between 8am and 10am via NH-48 and the Dwarka Expressway, a critical time period for professionals to commute between Delhi and Gurugram for work.
As traffic snarls persisted until noon on Thursday, highway traffic inspector Mahabir Singh told HT that traffic was moving smoothly, with no congestion. He added that his 70 personnel-strong team, deployed between Sirhaul Border and IFFCO Chowk, was prepared to manage the situation, anticipating heavier congestion on Friday.
The closure triggered severe traffic congestion along NH-48 on Thursday, with vehicles backed up for nearly 18km between Gurugram’s Udyog Vihar and Dhaula Kuan, leaving commuters stranded for hours.