How even an auto taking a U-turn triggers traffic snarls in Daultabad

Gurgaon: Road researchers and commuters have said that poor design of the Daultabad flyover, narrow entry and exit points and broken dividers are the major causes of perennial snarls on the section of the road.
This, they said, often leads to wrong-side driving and haphazard parking, which slows down the movement of vehicles.
The narrow two-lane Daultabad flyover witnesses long serpentine queues of vehicles, leading to hour-long jams during office hours. Road design experts have suggested a split flyover — one built over another — to improve the situation.
“During monsoon, waterlogging stalls traffic for hours. On other days, a bike switching lane through broken dividers, or an auto-rickshaw taking a U-turn, anything can cause a jam here. This flyover reminds me of the ones built in small cities, where you don’t see too many vehicles on the road,” said Rajbir, a commuter.
At present, the Daultabad flyover is the only option to connect with the Dwarka expressway. The two-lane flyover that can just about manage one-way traffic is actually open to vehicles from both sides.
Further, entry to the flyover through the railway road side is poorly designed and managed, complain commuters. There is a makeshift U-turn, demarcated by a cable wire, which encourages wrong-side driving. This U-turn poses safety concerns as vehicles going towards the railway station, those taking the flyover and the ones taking this forced U-turn to either access the flyover or take the service lane create a chaos.
Road design experts and civil engineers have also expressed their concern over the faulty and ‘ill-thought’ design of the flyover. They are of the view that since this flyover is an important link with the Dwarka expressway and the railway station, it needs complete overhaul and the approach points require widening.
“There are multiple issues with the design and traffic flow of this flyover. The approach points need to be reworked. Moreover, with such heavy traffic flow, a two-lane flyover is bound to be congested. We need to expand this flyover. Now, horizontal expansion isn’t possible due to land constraints. A split flyover, like the one in Nagpur, can be a good alternative,” noted Sewa Ram, an urban transport systems design expert and faculty member at the School of Planning and Architecture.
Sewa Ram has been commissioned by the GMDA to study and recommend possible solutions to address the structural and transport mobility issues at the flyover. According to his proposal, a flyover can be built vertically above the existing one.
While the current flyover will take the traffic from the railway road, the new one would cater to the traffic coming from the Dwarka expressway, he suggested. The entry and exit points of this flyover can also be discussed and planned, based on land availability and other feasibility aspects.
Sources, however, said the GMDA is reluctant to spend a huge amount of money on the complete overhaul of the flyover and is hoping that the opening of the Bajghera flyover might reduce vehicular pressure on it.
GMDA officials looking after the proposed plan declined comments.