Delhi: Nearly 3-Km Traffic Jam on 3.5-Km Barapullah Phase-III a Day After Opening
The Delhi Traffic Police said the congestion on the new corridor had been "noted on priority".
By Sakshi
New Delhi, October 1 : A day after the Barapullah Phase-III elevated corridor was inaugurated to improve connectivity between east and south Delhi, motorists faced heavy traffic congestion on the newly opened route on Wednesday.
Traffic from Mayur Vihar Phase-I towards Sarai Kale Khan moved slowly, with a tailback of nearly 3 km, according to commuters. One commuter travelling from Mayur Vihar Phase-I towards central Delhi said he was stuck for nearly 40 minutes, while another said it took 55 minutes to reach the flyover's first intersection.
Several commuters also took to X to complain that the promised reduction in travel time was not immediately visible.
"This is Delhi's traffic situation. A flyover inaugurated to relieve traffic jams is itself jammed," one road user posted on X.
Delhi Traffic Police Responds
Responding to complaints on X, the Delhi Traffic Police said the congestion on the new corridor had been "noted on priority". Traffic officers were directed to strengthen deployment and regulate traffic at critical merging and exit points to clear the congestion.
Police said the traffic pattern on the corridor was being assessed and that corrective measures would be taken to improve traffic flow.
Experts had cautioned before the opening that the corridor, designed as an alternative route for traffic using the Delhi-Noida Direct (DND) Flyway, could increase pressure near Sarai Kale Khan, where multiple routes converge.
PWD officials said traffic movement from Mayur Vihar towards AIIMS was open to commuters, while the carriageway from AIIMS towards Mayur Vihar was scheduled to open on Thursday afternoon.
Barapullah Phase-III Project
The Barapullah Phase-III corridor was inaugurated on Tuesday by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, along with other road projects taking the total outlay to Rs 1,941 crore. The Phase-III project itself was built at a revised cost of Rs 1,635 crore.
The 3.5-km elevated stretch connects Mayur Vihar Phase-I with Sarai Kale Khan and extends the existing Barapullah network towards AIIMS, creating a signal-free route of roughly 9 km. It is expected to reduce the travel time between east Delhi and AIIMS from around 35–40 minutes to about 15 minutes, depending on traffic conditions.
The project was approved in 2014 and construction began in 2015, with completion originally targeted for 2017. Delays related to land acquisition, environmental permissions, construction challenges and other issues pushed up the cost from the original allocation of about Rs 1,260.63 crore to Rs 1,635 crore.
A major engineering feature is the extradosed bridge over the Yamuna floodplain. In 2021, one of the bridge pillars tilted due to the strong flow of the Yamuna during the monsoon, after which work in the river was halted during the monsoon season.
The corridor also includes dedicated pedestrian and cycling facilities and is designed to provide connections towards the Ring Road, Sarai Kale Khan and AIIMS.
(Inputs from PTI)
