New Delhi: Delhi’s much-awaited Barapullah Phase-III corridor was meant to make the journey between east and south Delhi faster. Two days after opening, however, motorists are facing long traffic jams, while a traffic police drone survey has flagged bottlenecks at key points where the new corridor merges with the existing road network.
The newly opened corridor, which connects Mayur Vihar Phase-1 with the existing Barapullah network, has attracted a large number of vehicles that would otherwise have used routes such as NH-24 and the Delhi-Noida Direct (DND) flyway, officials said.
But instead of spreading traffic smoothly, the new corridor is pushing large volumes of vehicles towards points where several lanes merge into fewer lanes, creating bottlenecks, according to traffic police and experts.
The congestion that began on the first day continued into Thursday, with traffic spilling onto the Ring Road, Outer Ring Road, Mathura Road, DND, Bhairon Marg and several other major roads in south and southeast Delhi.
What Did The Drone Survey Find?
After two days of heavy congestion, the Delhi Traffic Police conducted a drone survey of the corridor. The survey identified two major points that are contributing to the traffic build-up.
At some locations, two separate three-lane stretches merge into a single three-lane corridor. This effectively forces six lanes of traffic into three lanes.
Another problem has been identified where traffic from the new spur joins the existing Barapullah flyover on the loop over Sundial Park. Here, one lane ends abruptly at almost a 90-degree angle, creating conflict between vehicles.
Traffic police are now considering introducing another traffic signal on the elevated corridor to manage the flow at one of these points. If implemented, Barapullah would become one of the few elevated corridors in the country with two traffic signals.
The congestion was particularly severe on Thursday, ahead of the long weekend, with traffic moving slowly across several parts of Delhi.
By evening, Google Maps showed that the roughly 8-km stretch between Safdarjung Hospital and Sarai Kale Khan was taking more than an hour. The 5-km stretch of the Outer Ring Road between Panchsheel Park and Munirka was taking more than 35 minutes.
Even the signal-free route from the AIIMS flyover to Sarai Kale Khan through Barapullah was showing a travel time of more than 45 minutes.
Motorists Face Long Delays
Motorists had reported heavy congestion on Wednesday, a day after the corridor was inaugurated.
Several commuters said traffic from Mayur Vihar Phase-1 towards Sarai Kale Khan was crawling, with a tailback of nearly 3 km.
One commuter said he was stuck for around 40 minutes while travelling from Mayur Vihar Phase-1 towards central Delhi in the afternoon. Another said it took 55 minutes to reach the first intersection point of the flyover.
Several commuters also said the promised reduction in travel time between Mayur Vihar Phase-1 and AIIMS was not visible on the first day of operations.
Responding to complaints on X, the Delhi Traffic Police said the congestion on the Mayur Vihar side had been “noted on priority”. Officers were directed to increase regulation at critical merging and exit points, strengthen deployment and clear the traffic build-up quickly.
Police said they were assessing the traffic pattern on the new corridor and would take corrective measures to improve the flow.
“The congestion reported on the newly-opened Barapullah Phase-III corridor, including the tailback from the Mayur Vihar side, has been noted on priority. Traffic officers have been directed to intensify regulation and strengthen deployment at critical merging and exit points,” a traffic officer said.
Why Is The New Corridor Causing Congestion?
Experts had warned before the opening that the new flyover, which was designed to provide an alternative to the DND flyway, could increase congestion around Sarai Kale Khan.
The issue appears to be that the new corridor has attracted additional traffic, but the road network at its connecting points does not have enough capacity to handle the increased volume smoothly.
In simple terms, the corridor can carry more vehicles, but those vehicles eventually have to pass through narrower merging points. This creates a bottleneck and pushes the congestion beyond the elevated road itself.
The corridor connects Mayur Vihar Phase-1 on the Noida Link Road to Sarai Kale Khan on Ring Road. It joins the existing Barapullah network to create a continuous, signal-free stretch of around 9 km up to the AIIMS roundabout.
The project was expected to ease pressure on the DND and Akshardham stretches by providing another route for commuters.
PWD officials said traffic from Mayur Vihar towards AIIMS has been opened for commuters. The carriageway from AIIMS towards Mayur Vihar was scheduled to open by Thursday afternoon, which officials said would further improve movement on the corridor.
Rs 1,635-Crore Project Took More Than A Decade
The Barapullah Phase-III project was approved in 2014 and construction began in 2015. It was originally scheduled to be completed in 2017 but faced several delays, with the project cost also increasing.
In 2021, a supporting pillar tilted because of the strong flow of the Yamuna during the monsoon. Following the incident, construction work was stopped during the monsoon season every year.
One of the key features of the corridor is an extradosed bridge over the Yamuna. It uses shorter stay towers compared with cable-stayed bridges such as the Signature Bridge.
The corridor also has nine loops for movement in different directions, along with a footpath and cycle track connecting Mayur Vihar Phase-1 with Ring Road.
The corridor was inaugurated on Tuesday along with four other road projects. The combined cost of the projects was Rs 1,941 crore.