Brace for major traffic congestion in and around South Extension markets with construction work on the upcoming Metro station in the area to begin soon.
To facilitate the construction of the underground Metro station, the carriageway has been modified on both sides of the central verge on Ring Road. For the next two-and-a-half years, only 11 metres of each carriageway will be available to motorists, as against 14 metres at present. Traffic Police have warned that this narrowing of road space can lead to traffic bottlenecks around the construction site, from AIIMS flyover up to Andrews Ganj flyover, in both directions. The traffic diversions will be imposed from Wednesday onwards.
In view of the expected bottlenecks, Delhi Traffic Police (DTP) has advised motorists coming from Aurobindo Marg to South Extension to take the Aurobindo Marg up to Balbir Saxena Marg, August Kranti Marg and then proceed either towards Masjid Moth in South Extension-II or take the August Kranti Marg to reach Ring Road and South Extension-II.
“The traffic from Malviya Nagar and Panchsheel to South Extension-I can take August Kranti Marg, Bhisham Pitamah Marg and take a left turn to South Extension-I. To commute to and fro between Bhisham Pitamah Marg to Aurobindo Marg, motorists are advised to take Fourth Avenue, Second Avenue and Najaf Khan Road to reach Aurobindo Marg. Motorists from Moti Bagh heading towards Moolchand or lajpat Nagar may go via Safdarjung Hospital to Yusuf Sarai Market, Aurobindo Marg, Balbir Saxena Marg, August Kranti Marg, Siri Fort Road, Greater Kailash and take Ring Road,” said Anil Shukla, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic).
Traffic Police have imposed diversions for all public transport buses. Due to the diversions, all public transport buses moving to and fro South Extension will now use the surface carriageway instead of the flyover. These apart, goods carriers as well as the inter-State buses will not be allowed to ply on Ring Road during peak hours. “Such vehicles will be barred from taking a left turn from August Kranti Marg towards Ring Road from 11 am to 5 pm. Similarly, there will be no right turn available from Bhisham Pitamah Marg on Ring Road. There will be a compulsory left turn on Ring Road towards Moolchand Crossing. This apart, commercial vehicles from IIT, Yusuf Sarai between 9.30 pm to 7.30 am will not be allowed to take a right turn at Ring Road. They will have to take a compulsory left turn towards Moti Bagh on Ring Road,” he added.
The upcoming Metro station at South Extension will be part of the proposed Mukundpur to Shiv Vihar corridor of Delhi Metro. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is constructing the station on the southern carriageway of Ring Road opposite South Extension market by the cut-and-cover method.