75 kmph or 100? 2 boards on Noida e-way leave commuters stumped

NOIDA: To step on the accelerator or not? The question preys on the mind of almost every commuter taking the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway these days.
The reason? The 25km expressway has both boards – one asking commuters not to go beyond 75kmph and another announcing the maximum speed limit at 100kmph.
The boards restricting the speed limit to 75kmph were placed during the winter, when dense fog had reduced visibility to only a few metres. The fog and chill are gone, but not the boards.
Among the confused commuters is Alok Singh, a resident of Alpha I in Greater Noida. “The other day, I saw two signboards on the expressway, each mentioning a different speed limit. I did not know whether to drive at the lower speed limit or the higher. The authorities should bring in clarity on the speed limit so that we are not issued challans every now and then,” he told TOI.
One such board near the Mahamaya flyover showed the speed limit for lighter vehicles to be 75kmph and 60kmph for the heavier ones. A few kilometres away near Sector 128, another board allowed lighter vehicles to touch 100kmph.
It was on December 20 last year that the Noida Authority had decided to bring down the speed limit from 100kmph to 75kmph for the reduced visibility. However, the speed limit was restored to 100kmph on February 16 this year.
Most commuters make it a point to stick to the speed limit on the expressway, which is equipped with multiple cameras under the Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS).
“Yes, the signboards are yet to be fixed. Challans are automatically issued to commuters who violate the speed limit, which is 100kmph now. We will ask the Noida Authority to fix the boards soon,” a traffic police official said.
The entire expressway is undergoing resurfacing at the moment. The contract was given to a private company in January 2021 and the deadline was fixed for June that year. Two years have gone by, but the contractor is yet to complete the work. The company has been fined over Rs 3 crore for the delay.
KV Singh, senior manager at the Authority, said the boards showing the 75kmph speed limit were kept there for a purpose.
“We had reduced the speed limit and placed signboards during winter. The resurfacing of the expressway will continue till April 15. The boards with the 75kmph limit are there as a precautionary measure. Once the resurfacing work is done, the signboards will be removed too,” he added.
Around 1.5 lakh vehicles use the expressway daily. There are four lanes – overtaking, car, bus/truck and rescue – on the expressway.