Barapullah Phase-III gridlock: Traffic Police ask PWD to redesign merger point | Exclusive

The Delhi Traffic Police have written to the Public Works Department (PWD) seeking the redesign of the merger point near the Sundial Park, where the newly opened Barapullah Phase-III Flyover connects with the existing corridor, citing repeated traffic congestion.

Barapullah Phase-III opened to the public on Wednesday last. By Thursday evening, the eight-km drive from Safdarjung Hospital to Sarai Kale Khan was taking over an hour. A Delhi Traffic Police drone survey found two three-lane roads feeding into a single three-lane corridor at several points. A lane ends abruptly where the new spur joins the existing flyover over Sundial Park.

The HT last week explained how traffic obeys physics that scientists have studied since the 1950s, and design manuals worldwide turn that physics into rules, and how Barapullah’s merges break several of them, and the science shows how predictable this jam was.

In an October 1 (Friday) letter, a copy of which HT has seen, the office of the deputy police commissioner (southern range) flagged major geometric and structural defects to the executive engineer of PWD’s flyover project division F-21.

It noted that “after opening of the flyover, a joint inspection of the newly opened flyover and its adjoining stretches was conducted on October 1, by senior officers of Traffic Police along with officials of PWD”. The letter cited the inspection and noted that certain geometric and traffic-flow related issues at the merger point near Sundial Park are contributing to significant traffic congestion, particularly in view of the exceptionally high volume on the newly opened corridor.

The joint inspection detailed critical design flaws responsible for the daily choke points on the crucial stretch connecting Mayur Vihar to South Delhi.

Under the heading of structural and geometric issues, the letter highlighted that the merger point of the Barapullah Phase-III Flyover with the existing flyover near the Sundial has a relatively sharp/rectangular geometry instead of a smooth curvature. “This results in an abrupt merging of traffic and creates a bottleneck at the junction.” An aerial photo taken by a drone was attached to the letter to demonstrate the extent of the defect.

The letter cited a severe mismatch in lane capacities where multiple heavy traffic streams converge, further compounding the crisis. “The new Phase-III Flyover has three lanes, while another three lanes of traffic from the Sundial side, coming from Sarai Kale Khan/Ring Road side, merge at the same location. Further, three lanes of traffic coming from the Ashram/DND side also merge towards the existing Barapullah corridor.”

The letter pointed out that the existing Barapullah Flyover has only two lanes at the relevant stretch. “Thus, a substantial mismatch in lane capacity occurs, resulting in congestion and slowing down of traffic at the merging point”.

The Traffic Police asked PWD engineers to execute prompt modifications to ease commuter distress and ensure road safety. “...it is suggested that the merger at the Sundial should be redesigned by providing a smooth curvature instead of the existing rectangular/sharp geometry to facilitate smooth and safe merging of traffic.”