Now Reading: Delhi traffic police warn of high accident risk on expressway exit
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Delhi traffic police warn of high accident risk on expressway exit
Delhi traffic police have flagged a new exit of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway at Ashram as a potential 'black spot', warning of high accident risk from the sudden merging of high-speed expressway traffic…
Delhi traffic police have flagged a new exit of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway at Ashram as a potential 'black spot', warning of high accident risk from the sudden merging of high-speed expressway traffic with local Ring Road traffic. In a July 3 letter to NHAI, police sought a comprehensive safety audit before the junction opened. The stretch was opened to the public on Saturday.
NHAI told HT it conducted a pre-opening safety audit on May 18 and the junction was 'reasonably safe for traffic operation', with recommendations submitted on June 11. The agency did not say if another audit was done after the police letter.
On Monday, the first working day, a traffic officer on the ground called the situation 'extremely difficult', with severe congestion during peak hours. Two personnel have been deployed to manage traffic. Police say the high-speed merging traffic could create a dangerous conflict point at the complex junction that feeds Ring Road, Ashram Flyover and New Friends Colony.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, India's longest greenfield highway, is designed for speeds of up to 120 km/h, but its urban exits were a known design challenge from the start. Under the Indian Roads Congress guidelines, a 'black spot' is a stretch where five or more fatal accidents occurred in a calendar year. The junction in question merges high-speed expressway traffic with local Ring Road traffic that operates at city speeds below 60 km/h, a mismatch that central road safety audits from the Ministry of Road Transport have repeatedly flagged as a crash risk. NHAI's own Standard Operating Procedures require a post-construction road safety audit before any new stretch opens, but Delhi Police's letter suggests this was not fully resolved. The next escalation point is the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, which can order a fresh audit by CSIR-CRRI, the government's independent road safety lab.
Source: hindustantimes.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
