Several key arterial roads, connecting central and south Delhi with eastern parts of the city, Ghaziabad and Noida, will remain disrupted for the next three months due to the ongoing road repair and recarpeting work on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway (DME), Delhi traffic police said on Tuesday.
Traffic police said that due to ongoing work, which started last week, heavy traffic snarls are visible across the stretch, especially during evening peak hours.
Currently, the road repair and recarpeting work is being carried out by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on the DME’s carriageway going towards Ghaziabad from Sarai Kale Khan. Although one portion of the carriageway is left open for vehicles, the maintenance work is leading to traffic jams on the adjacent NH-9 and NH-24, the Ring Road between Ashram Chowk and IP flyover, Vikas Marg, DND flyway, and Barapullah flyway that motorists are using to reach their destinations.
Commuters said that the traffic snarls on the DME and NH-9 have been leading to long lines of vehicles on a two to three kilometres stretch on the Ring Road, as motorists coming from India Gate, IP flyover, Sarai Kale Khan-Ashram, and Barapullah flyway are getting stuck for extended periods.
“It usually takes 20 to 25 minutes to reach Indirapuram from Sarai Kale Khan during the evening peak hours when I return home from my office in Lajpat Nagar using the DME. The travel time has almost doubled because half of the carriageway remains barricaded for the road re-carpeting work happening near Akshardham temple,” said Lakshya Saini, 36, an accountant.
Another commuter, Swastik Sharma, 28, said, “The impact of the maintenance work is already seen on the NH-9 and the NH-24,” he added.
The Delhi Traffic Police on Sunday issued an advisory on social media, informing the public about the DME’s maintenance work and the traffic jams caused by it.
“Traffic likely to remain affected on Delhi–Meerut Expressway due to ongoing road maintenance work, especially during evening peak hours (5 pm–11 pm). Commuters are advised to avoid the stretch towards Ghaziabad/Meerut, use NH-9 as an alternate route and plan their journey in advance,” the traffic police posted on X.
The traffic police mentioned that the maintenance work is likely to continue till June 30. “Traffic movement may be slow due to lane restrictions. Vehicular movement may be regulated as per requirement. Commuters are requested to anticipate delays and cooperate with traffic police personnel deployed on the routes,” said a traffic police officer.