NEW DELHI: Residents of colonies in south Delhi along Outer Ring Road should brace for a manic Monday with one carriageway of Chirag Dilli flyover – Nehru Place to IIT – being finally closed on Sunday which immediately threw traffic out of gear. The tailback extended to the Nehru Place flyover on a day when traffic is thin. So, the gains of the Ashram intersection reopening may be shortlived in terms of commuter experience.One can only imagine what’s likely to happen on Monday – and for the next two months – once offices resume and schools reopen after the extended Holi weekend. If this main artery is choked, as seems likely for most of the time and more so during the peak hours, it’s sure to hit traffic in the internal lanes of colonies like Greater Kailash-II, Chittaranjan Park, Kalkaji and Alaknanda.According to an advisory issued earlier by the traffic police, the work will be taken up by PWD in two phases. Repairs on the carriageway from Nehru Place to IIT will be taken up first and the other carriageway after that. Each side will take about 25 days – a month perhaps, allowing for the usual delays – during which it will be closed for traffic. The other carriageway will remain open.Since the traffic signal at Chirag Dilli for the traffic coming from Nehru Place will now be an extended one – to facilitate movement towards Panchsheel and IIT and also towards Moolchand – the traffic going towards Moolchand from Saket and also from Moolchand towards Nehru Place will have to wait longer, leading to long tailbacks on both sides.There are alternative routes like going through Greater Kailash-I or taking the Nehru Place-LSR corridor or even trying to reach Ashram, which is now relatively less congested, through Modi Mill flyover but the traffic volume may rise on these routes too. The congested Mehrauli-Badarpur Road could help people going towards Vasant Kunj, IGI Airport or Gurgaon.Over two dozen traffic police officials have been deployed to monitor and regulate traffic movement, especially during the peak hours in the morning and evening. “Commuters heading for railway stations, airport, hospitals etc are advised to plan their departure in advance and take alternative routes to avoid delays,” the police have said.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/chirag-dilli-flyover-repairs-start-traffic-to-be-hit-badly/articleshow/98590391.cms
