Barapullah Phase-III Chokes Delhi Traffic: 6 Lanes Merge Into 3, 90-Degree Turn Flags Flaws

The Barapullah Phase-III flyover, built to improve connectivity between east and south Delhi, has triggered widespread traffic congestion within two days of opening, with a Delhi Traffic Police drone survey identifying major bottlenecks where the new corridor merges with the existing road network.

The newly opened stretch connects Mayur Vihar with the existing Barapullah elevated corridor. Officials said it has attracted significant traffic that would otherwise have used NH-24 and the Delhi-Noida-Direct (DND) flyway.

Instead of distributing the additional traffic smoothly, however, the corridor appears to be funnelling large volumes of vehicles into points where multiple lanes suddenly merge into fewer lanes, creating severe bottlenecks.

Drone Survey Flags Two Major Bottlenecks

After nearly continuous congestion for two days, Delhi Traffic Police conducted an aerial survey and identified two major problem areas.

At some points, two separate three-lane streams merge into a three-lane corridor, effectively forcing six lanes of traffic into three. At another point, traffic from the new spur meets the existing Barapullah flyover on the loop over Sundial Park, where a lane ends abruptly at an angle of nearly 90 degrees, creating further conflict between vehicles.

Traffic police are now considering introducing another traffic signal on the elevated corridor to regulate vehicle movement. If implemented, Barapullah would become one of the few elevated corridors in the country requiring two traffic signals to control traffic flow.

The congestion has extended well beyond the new flyover, affecting the Ring Road, Outer Ring Road, Mathura Road, DND, Bhairon Marg and several major roads across south and southeast Delhi.

The situation worsened on Thursday ahead of the long weekend, with traffic crawling for hours across several parts of the Capital.

Google Maps showed that the roughly 8-km stretch between Safdarjung Hospital and Sarai Kale Khan was taking more than an hour by evening. The 5-km stretch on the Outer Ring Road between Panchsheel Park and Munirka was taking more than 35 minutes, while the signal-free route from the AIIMS flyover to Sarai Kale Khan via Barapullah was taking more than 45 minutes.

New Corridor Attracts Traffic, But Merges Create Bottlenecks

The traffic crisis has highlighted a basic road-capacity problem: adding a new corridor does not necessarily increase the effective capacity of the wider network if vehicles eventually have to pass through the same narrow points.

In the case of Barapullah Phase-III, the new corridor has succeeded in attracting traffic, but its connections with the existing road network appear unable to absorb the additional flow smoothly.

“The opening of Barapullah Phase-III and the resulting changes in traffic movement have significantly affected the Ring Road and the Ashram area,” a senior traffic police officer said.

The congestion was further aggravated by construction work at several locations, including the Modi Mill flyover, Chirag Delhi, and flyovers between South Extension and Ashram junction.

Commuters reported major delays across the affected routes.

Karan Singh, a Ghaziabad resident who regularly uses the Sarai Kale Khan route, said navigation apps showed congestion across the entire stretch and diverted him towards Bhairon Marg.

“It usually takes me around 45 minutes to reach home, but today it will take me more than two hours,” he said.

Traffic was reported through the evening on the Ring Road, Outer Ring Road, Sarai Kale Khan, Mathura Road, DND, Barapullah, Bhairon Marg, India Gate and roads towards ITO. IIT Delhi’s fest also added to congestion on the southern stretch of the Outer Ring Road.

The situation deteriorated further at night after a bus broke down on the Ring Road near Ashram. Traffic police arranged a crane to remove the vehicle, but it had not been cleared until the time of publication.

Officials also said the shortage of traffic personnel at some locations may have contributed to the worsening congestion, although they could not immediately identify a single reason for the unusually widespread disruption.

Design Flaws Exposed

Traffic experts said traffic management measures can only partially address problems arising from road geometry.

“Merging six lanes to three will always lead to a bottleneck. Auxiliary lanes are created here but are poorly designed, which lead to sudden merging of vehicles. Proper signage, road markings and gore area treatment are essential to guide traffic safely and improve flow,” said S Velmurugan, former chief scientist and head of the Traffic Engineering and Safety Division at the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI).

He said gore areas — triangular spaces where roads diverge or merge — need clear markings, reflective paint, bollards and solar studs to improve visibility and guide motorists.

Traffic police have flagged the problems with the agencies concerned and proposed immediate corrective measures.

One proposal involves installing a traffic signal at the point where traffic from the Sundial loop meets vehicles arriving from Mayur Vihar on the new corridor.

“We noticed in our aerial survey that there are three lanes of packed traffic coming from Mayur Vihar, and above the Sundial loop, three more lanes merging into the elevated corridor. Since the corridor itself is just three lanes, the merger leads to a deadlock where six lanes try to merge into three,” said Dinesh Kumar Gupta, additional commissioner of police (Zone-II Traffic).

Police have also asked the Public Works Department (PWD) to install barricades at the problematic junction and modify the geometry to create a more gradual merge.

Gupta acknowledged that the measure would not resolve the underlying design issue but said it could reduce its impact.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Sanjay Tyagi, Gupta and Deputy Commissioner of Traffic Police (Southern Range) Sandeep Gupta were present during the drone survey.

Police Seek Google Maps Update

Traffic police are also examining additional traffic-control measures at other merging points to regulate inflow and prevent excessive vehicle accumulation.

Officials have written to Google Maps to update navigation information for the newly opened corridor. Since Phase-III is new, live traffic data is not yet fully available, potentially directing more vehicles towards an already congested route.

“If commuters receive accurate and real-time traffic information, they may choose to move towards NH-24, wherever feasible, and that may reduce excessive traffic pressure on the existing Barapullah corridor,” an officer said.

The Barapullah Phase-III flyover was inaugurated on Tuesday and opened to the public on Wednesday.

The PWD did not officially respond to queries. However, a PWD official said the planning and studies for the project were more than two decades old and may not have anticipated current traffic volumes after the project’s prolonged delay.

“The project anyway had to be opened as construction was over 95% complete by the time this government took over. We are now discussing what can be done as a retrofitting measure,” the official said.

Experts Suggest Lane Balancing, Better Public Transport

Experts said long-term relief would require reducing dependence on private vehicles through stronger public transport, while immediate measures could include lane balancing, speed calming, widening exits where feasible and gradually staggering traffic from three lanes to two and then one.

“Lane balancing is a strategy used to manage vehicles in every lane and control speed. Staggering vehicles gradually from three lanes to two, then one can help. This way vehicles do not suddenly see a narrow passage from a wide flyway,” said Sarika Panda Bhatt, co-founder of the Raahgiri Foundation.