Gurgaon: Genpact underpass closed just three days after it was opened to public
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Gurgaon: Genpact underpass closed just three days after it was opened to public

The Genpact underpass was constructed for decongesting the junction where traffic merged from DLF 5, St Thomas Marg and the Gurgaon-Faridabad road. But it just led to more snarls on the Golf Course Road.

Gurgaon: Genpact underpass closed just three days after it was opened to public Traffic snarl in Gurgaon owing to the opening of the Genpact underpass

The Genpact underpass in Gurgaon had just been opened to the public for three days, when Gurgaon Police ordered it to be closed again owing to traffic issues.

The underpass — constructed by Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) in partnership with DLF Ltd — had been opened on Saturday, March 10, on a trial basis and closed again on Tuesday, March 13.

The Genpact underpass was constructed for decongesting the junction where traffic merged from DLF 5, St Thomas Marg and the Gurgaon-Faridabad road. It was intended to help commuters avoid congestion near the Sector 53-54 Metro station. However, instead of decongesting the intersection, the underpass led to snarls on the Golf Course Road.

ACP (Traffic) Usha Kundu revealed several flaws in the underpass design that did not make it “feasible” to open it to the public, that too without prior notice to the traffic police. “There are several technical issues,” Kundu said. “The slip roads are not complete, proper road signage has not been installed. This was leading to a lot of congestion and accidents.”

“Engineering changes at the junction cannot be executed every day, as it inconveniences commuters,” Kundu added. “Prior to the next opening of the underpass, an advisory and a notification will be issued for suggestions from the public, if any.”

However, while the underpass was closed keeping commuters’ woes in mind, the latter had to struggle with yet another unannounced change in the traffic flow.

“On Saturday, authorities opened the underpass without prior notice and blocked three U-turns; on Sunday they reopened the three U-turns; and on Tuesday they closed the underpass again,” said Abhishek Dayal, a Nirvana Country resident. “These constant changes have led me to avoid the Golf Course Road altogether and take a different route.”

On Saturday morning, traffic on both sides of the Golf Course Road was impacted for more than four hours, as the authorities had blocked three U-turns — one opposite the Magnolias, another ahead of the Sector 53-54 Metro station, and one opposite Parsvnath Exotica. This led to a surge of vehicles on the Golf Course Road, as commuters had to travel all the way to AIT Chowk to turn.

The resulting traffic bottlenecked at the AIT Chowk, with traffic stretching all the way from the junction to the Sector 55-56 Metro station on one side, and DLF Phase 1 Metro station on the other.

On Sunday, despite the three U-turns being reopened, vehicular movement could not be streamlined.