PWD minister blames previous Govt for Barapullah Phase-III traffic snarl

Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma on Wednesday blamed the Aam Aadmi Party for traffic problems on the Barapullah Phase-III stretch, saying the project was planned and designed under its Government and that steps are now being taken to fix the faults.

Since its opening last month, the stretch has seen crawling traffic because of several design shortcomings. The Delhi Traffic Police has also written to the Public Works Department (PWD) highlighting the issues.

At a press conference at the Delhi Secretariat, the Minister said the project was conceived to provide signal-free connectivity between Mayur Vihar, Sarai Kale Khan and South Delhi. Still, since its opening, the traffic situation has exposed critical issues where multiple traffic streams converge.

The Minister said the previous AAP Government led by Arvind Kejriwal took the planning, design, and major execution decisions for the project, and the current traffic situation has raised questions about whether the design adequately factored in future traffic growth and integration with surrounding corridors.

The Minister said that the issue was not limited to the road itself. The interaction of Barapulla with DND Flyway, NH-24, Ring Road, RRTS connectivity, Sarai Kale Khan and the surrounding railway and metro network has created a much larger integrated traffic movement.

“We recently held a meeting and discussions were on short-term and long-term solutions that traffic police have suggested; we will work on that,” Verma said.

The BJP leader said the traffic jam on Barapullah indicates that the Arvind Kejriwal Government lacked foresight.

A PWD official said issues where the road merges with the old Barapullah stretch near Sarai Kale Khan junction on Ring Road contribute to the persistent congestion. However, that is not the only factor.

“There is some misinformation on Google Maps; apparently, it is not updating real-time traffic information for commuters to navigate, causing more congestion on the stretch properly,” the official said. The three-lane Barapullah Phase-III flyover merges with a two-lane stretch of the existing corridor near Sundial Park, while traffic from two other three-lane approaches also converges at the same point.

According to the plan revealed by Verma, PWD will take up a road-widening project on the Ring Road stretch between ITO and Sarai Kale Khan junction, replacing a footpath with a new road lane.

“PWD is working with the Delhi Traffic Police on immediate measures, including better utilisation of available road space, improved lane channelisation and smoother movement between Sarai Kale Khan and ITO,” the minister said in a statement.

Another proposal is to construct a U-turn in front of Gurudwara Shree Bala Sahab to give residents living beneath the flyover access to the Old Barapullah approach road.

“This will allow residents of Siddharth Extension to directly take Old Barapullah towards Lajpat Nagar, INA and AIIMS, without unnecessary diversion or wrong-side movement,” Verma added.

The PWD department is also in touch with Google Maps for real-time traffic congestion information about the Barapullah Phase III stretch, he said.

“Google Maps algorithm takes around 15 days to update the traffic situation of a road, so that will happen soon; we are in touch with them. Delhi Traffic Police has also issued an advisory regarding congestion on the corridor,” Verma said.

The minister said his department seeks to undo the faults “as soon as possible,” with all administrative issues already resolved in the past year.

“The AAP Government did all tender specifications and technical feasibility. How can this be our design fault?” he added. Constructed at Rs 1,635 crore, the new flyover connects Mayur Vihar Phase-1 on Noida Link Road to Sarai Kale Khan on Ring Road, merging with the existing Barapullah network to form a continuous 10-kilometre signal-free stretch till the AIIMS roundabout.

Meanwhile, Verma also said some videos surfaced showing people tearing apart a freshly built road. He added that newly constructed roads take time to settle and that PWD can file FIRs in such cases.