A day after a portion of the Delhi-Gurugram-Jaipur (NH-48) expressway caved in at Narsinghpur following heavy rain, Gurugram continued to struggle with severe traffic congestion on Wednesday as lane restrictions, repair work and fresh showers crippled movement on the highway and several arterial roads.
While the damaged stretch was reopened on a trial basis by Wednesday evening about 8pm after emergency repairs by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), diversions remained in place through the day, with traffic police deploying additional personnel and rerouting commuters to ease pressure on the expressway.
The cave-in, reported around 4.30pm on Tuesday after heavy rain, forced the closure of two lanes on the Delhi-to-Jaipur carriageway near Narsinghpur. On Wednesday, with only two lanes operational for most of the day, long queues of vehicles stretched between Narsinghpur and Hero Honda Chowk, while congestion spilt over to Rajiv Chowk, Southern Peripheral Road (SPR), Dwarka Expressway and several connecting roads, officials and commuters said.
NHAI said traffic movement on the damaged stretch resumed on Wednesday evening after repairs were completed. Officials said the damaged section was repaired with concrete and reinforced with 8 mm-thick metal sheets before being reopened on a trial basis. NHAI said it coordinated with the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) during the repair work.
Yogesh Tilak, project director, NHAI, said, “We worked in coordination with traffic police and GMDA to ensure the road becomes functional, and traffic was restored by evening. We have opened the traffic on a trial basis, and our teams are keeping a close watch on the situation. If there is any further issue, we will close the road again to ensure commuter safety.”
Tilak said heavy metal sheets had been installed over the repaired portion to distribute vehicle load evenly and protect the structural integrity of the carriageway.
Officials said the cave-in followed the insertion of drainage pipes beneath the highway through a trenchless method. Earlier this year, NHAI had initially denied GMDA permission to construct a culvert beneath the expressway at Narsinghpur over concerns of a possible cave-in. Officials said the authority later permitted insertion of pipes through trenchless technology following GMDA’s insistence, after which the road suffered damage.
A senior GMDA official said, “The concrete was allowed to get fully set to ensure seamless movement of vehicles. We are keeping a close watch on the situation.”
Inundated roads slow traffic
Meanwhile, a spot check on Wednesday found surface traffic from Hero Honda Chowk and Rajiv Chowk towards Narsinghpur closed, while only heavy and large commercial goods vehicles were allowed to use the elevated carriageway. At Khandsa in Sector 33, the elevated corridor towards Narsinghpur was restricted to two lanes, while service lanes were designated for two-wheelers and private vehicles heading towards Subhash Chowk via Vatika Chowk to reduce bottlenecks near the damaged stretch.
Traffic police personnel made diversion and lane discipline announcements through loudspeakers near the elevated corridor opening close to Rose Land Public School in Khandsa. Despite the measures, light and heavy commercial vehicles remained stuck on a nearly two-kilometre stretch leading to Narsinghpur due to lane restrictions and repair work.
“Travel time from Khandsa to Manesar increased by nearly thirty minutes due to diversions and alternate routes via the Hero Honda Chowk and Southern Peripheral Road,” said Prem Prajapati, a resident of Kasan.
Jeewa Deepa, a resident of Sector 66, said the reduced carriageway width resulted in congestion at Narsinghpur, Hero Honda Chowk and other connecting intersections during peak hours. A spot inspection also found traffic police dynamically opening and closing stretches to regulate traffic flow.
Prateek Gehlot, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic), said checkposts had been established at Hero Honda Chowk and Rajiv Chowk to enforce lane discipline and facilitate diversions.
“Three police parties will remain deployed round the clock to streamline the traffic movement along the merging, entry- and exit-points of the highway until the corridor is fully repaired. The situation was largely under control on Wednesday,” Gehlot said.
He said similar diversion plans were implemented at the Delhi-Gurugram border, where Delhi traffic police advised motorists heading towards Gurugram to use the Dwarka Expressway instead of NH 48. Crash barriers were also installed along the service lanes from Khandsa to Clover Leaf, where metal railings were missing along the drainage network.
Meanwhile, roads connecting Rajiv Colony and Hans Enclave to NH 48 remained choked due to knee-deep waterlogging. Congestion was also reported near Naharpur Rupa Colony, SPR, Old Railway Road and along Pataudi Road towards Khandsa due to diversions, waterlogging and increased traffic volume.
Police said 260 additional personnel were deployed along the NH 48 corridor, supported by five cranes, two Hydra pickup machines and six patrol vehicles.
“Seventeen mobile riders made lane discipline announcements through loudspeakers on high-speed corridors and congestion-prone locations. Teams will be deployed at various sensitive and busy locations in Gurugram to clear jams during the rainy season and handle emergencies,” a senior traffic police official said, requesting anonymity.
Heavy rain again lashed Gurugram for around 90 minutes from about 12.30pm on Wednesday, leading to fresh waterlogging at Narsinghpur and between Hero Honda Chowk and Umang Bhardwaj Chowk, slowing traffic further.
Traffic police continued to divert vehicles towards Manesar through Subhash Chowk and the Southern Peripheral Road and from Hero Honda Chowk towards the Dwarka Expressway. A similar advisory asking commuters travelling towards Manesar and beyond to use SPR and Dwarka Expressway had also been issued on Tuesday.
