Travel time down by almost 20 mins at the Sirhaul toll, thanks to diversions
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Travel time down by almost 20 mins at the Sirhaul toll, thanks to diversions

Almost a month after NHAI asked Gurgaon Police to implement route diversions at the toll for better traffic management, commuters say the situation has vastly improved.

Travel time down by almost 20 mins at the Sirhaul toll, thanks to diversions Representative image

Almost a month after the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) gave Gurgaon Police the permission to implement route diversions at the Sirhaul Toll Plaza on a trial basis to manage traffic better, commuters say the situation has indeed improved.

They said that despite traffic flow towards New Delhi being slower, vehicle movement was more streamlined than before.

Commuters also said they found it easier to head back towards areas in Gurgaon that were near the New Delhi border.

“Since the authorities marked dedicated lanes on the toll, traffic flow towards New Delhi has become more organised. While we faced navigation issues in the initial days after the diversions came into effect, crossing the stretch now takes almost 20 minutes lesser,” said Neera Kukreja, a resident of Noida, who has to take the toll every day.

The NHAI has sought a 15-day report from Gurgaon Police on the effectiveness of the changes enforced at the toll since February 25 by placing jersey barriers. It had also asked Gurgaon Police to modify lanes at the toll plaza for commercial and non-commercial vehicles, which was carried out by traffic personnel on Monday.

Gurgaon Police was asked to reserve six lanes for SDMC toll tax collection. The remaining 10 lanes were to be used for non-commercial vehicles, as per a Delhi High Court order.

“The eight lanes reserved for toll tax collection has been reduced to six, as per the direction received. The changes enforced at the Sirhaul toll on a trial basis have been effective in clearing congestion and we will continue with this until further orders,” said Hira Singh, ACP (traffic).

Commuters, too, seemed happy. “Heading towards Ambience Mall during peak traffic hours took us more than an hour. But on Monday, the same journey took less than 20 minutes, as I could take a dedicated carriageway on the extreme left for turning back towards Gurgaon,” said Rakhi Verma, a resident of DLF Phase 2.

Despite the changes initially leading to growing confusion among commuters due to changed routes and poor signage, the situation improved soon after as traffic police made a few additional changes to smooth traffic out. This included removing sections of jersey barriers to allow vehicles to switch lanes depending on the traffic scenario, and placing stationary vehicles with LED screens displaying directions and signage ahead of the Iffco Chowk flyover and Shankar Chowk flyover.

Since February 25, the extreme left carriageway has been reserved for vehicles moving towards Rajokri, Kapasehra, DLF Phase 3 and Ambience Island. The carriageway on the extreme right has been reserved for non-commercial vehicles travelling towards New Delhi after descending from Shankar Chowk flyover. The middle two carriageways are reserved for non-commercial vehicles travelling from Cyber City to New Delhi, and commercial vehicles rejoining traffic after paying the SDMC toll tax.