Wrong-turn trouble at Ghaziabad elevated road: Motorists use entry ramp as exit

GHAZIABAD: Traffic volunteers had a hard time stopping commuters from taking the wrong turn and go against the direction of traffic on the Vasundhara ramp of the newly inaugurated Hindon Elevated Road on its first full day of operations on Saturday.
There was apprehension that the situation could turn more chaotic when the work week begins on Monday.

The 10.3km road, a flyover that connects UP Gate on NH-24 with Raj Nagar Extension, has two ramps in Indirapuram and Vasundhara but commuters either failed to understand or chose to ignore the fact that both are one-way.

The flyover has essentially been designed as an Indirapuram-Vasundhara bypass for traffic coming from NH-24 and does not allow an exit into the two townships.

The ramp that opens into Vasundhara curves in the direction of Raj Nagar Extension as it joins the elevated road because it is a one-way route only meant for vehicles that wish to take the elevated road and go towards Raj Nagar Extension.

Yet, all of Saturday, scores of people driving cars and two-wheelers and going in the direction of Raj Nagar Extension took the left turn into the Vasundhara ramp against the direction of traffic, endangering themselves as well as those driving in because the possibility of head-on collisions was high.

Traffic volunteers said it was because people hadn’t understood that the UP Gate-Raj Nagar Extension carriageway was not meant for internal Vasundhara-Indirapuram traffic.

The other ramp opposite to this one, sliding down into Indirapuram from the Raj Nagar Extension-UP Gate carriageway, faced similar problems as commuters argued with the lone cop manning it to allow them to climb into the flyover against the flow of traffic and turn left in the direction of UP Gate. This ramp is meant only for traffic coming from Raj Nagar Extension that wants to descend into Indirapuram.

The Ghaziabad Development Authority and traffic police had taken measures like placing barricades at the ramps to stop commuters from taking wrong turns but even those failed to act as deterrents.

“We have barred traffic from taking the left turn towards Hindon barrage road (Vasindhara),” said VN Singh, executive engineer, GDA. “But the system is new and many of them are not familiar with the restrictions. Sunday onwards, we have plans to man this point as well and no one will be allowed to descend using the Vasundhara ramp. We will ensure that.”

Manoj Kumar, the traffic cop posted at the Indirapuram exit ramp, said, “I was on duty at the spot from 8am. Till afternoon, more than 50 commuters took the wrong turn. When stopped, some said they were not aware and others just argued. It was tough convincing them.”

Dayal Sigh, a biker who was seen descending down the Vasundhara ramp, admitted he had made a mistake but said he wasn’t aware of the rule.

“There was no one on the elevated road who could guide me, so I took the ramp. But I soon realized it was a wrong turn as I saw vehicles coming from the opposite direction,” he said.

A woman on a Scooty was seen arguing with a traffic volunteer who told her she could not use the Vasundhara ramp as an exit.

“I could not have allowed her to take the ramp as it is too risky besides being illegal and if this is the attitude of commuters, I think we will have to deploy more traffic cops on the stretch,” said the volunteer.

But other than on the ramps, traffic flow was smooth on the flyover, which has brought down the commute between the two points to barely a 10-minute journey from the 45-60 minutes it took in peak hours.

The flyover, the longest in NCR and the second-longest road in the country built on viaducts, has facilitated a signal-free ride all the way to Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi via NH-24, whose makeover into Delhi-Meerut Expressway is almost complete up to UP Gate.