By Chandan Singh | Page 3 News Worldwide | New Delhi
New Delhi: Traffic congestion on the newly operationalised Barapulla Phase-III has raised questions over the project’s planning, design and integration with surrounding corridors during the previous AAP government, Delhi PWD Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh said on Tuesday.
Addressing a press conference at the Delhi Secretariat, Singh said the project was originally planned to provide signal-free connectivity between Mayur Vihar, Sarai Kale Khan and South Delhi. However, the traffic situation after its opening has exposed bottlenecks where multiple traffic streams converge into fewer lanes.
The project was approved in 2014, while construction began in April 2015 with an original completion target of 2017. It remained delayed for several years due to issues including land acquisition, tree permissions, utility shifting and other execution-related hurdles.
Singh said the major planning, design and execution decisions were taken during the previous AAP government led by Arvind Kejriwal. He said the present congestion had raised questions over whether future traffic growth and integration with adjoining corridors had been adequately considered.
“A project of this scale has to be planned not only for the traffic of today, but also for the traffic of the coming years,” Singh said, adding that the government’s immediate priority was to identify the shortcomings and address them.
The minister said Barapulla’s interaction with the DND Flyway, NH-24, Ring Road, RRTS connectivity, Sarai Kale Khan and the surrounding railway and metro networks had created a complex traffic movement pattern.
₹640 Crore Arbitration Payment Questioned
Singh also questioned financial and contractual decisions related to the project, saying an additional payment of around ₹640 crore had been made to the contractor through arbitration.
He said the project’s prolonged delay, cost escalation and arbitration-related payments needed to be examined together. The minister also noted that these issues had previously been subject to official scrutiny.
PWD Plans Immediate Traffic Measures
The PWD is working with Delhi Traffic Police on immediate measures to ease congestion, including better utilisation of road space, improved lane channelisation and smoother traffic movement between Sarai Kale Khan, Ring Road and ITO.
The government is also coordinating on Google Maps route mapping following changes in traffic patterns after the corridor opened. Delhi Traffic Police has issued an advisory regarding congestion on the route.
PWD is additionally examining a dedicated U-turn/cut on Ring Road near the Gurudwara to provide direct access to the Old Barapulla approach road. The proposed facility is aimed at allowing Siddharth Extension residents to access Old Barapulla towards Lajpat Nagar, INA and AIIMS without unnecessary diversions.
Singh said the government would pursue both immediate traffic-management measures and long-term structural solutions.
A traffic and structural design consultant will be appointed to undertake a comprehensive assessment of the corridor and recommend short- and long-term interventions, he said.
