Multiple Construction Projects Cause Heavy Traffic Gridlock on Delhi Ring Road
A string of simultaneous infrastructure and repair projects across south Delhi has brought vehicular traffic to a crawl on key arterial corridors, including the Ring Road, Outer Ring Road, Mehrauli-Badarpur Road, and Josip Broz Tito Marg, causing severe delays and diversions for commuters.
The Ring Road has emerged as one of the worst-affected stretches. The Public Works Department (PWD) has started work to extend the Barapullah Elevated Road on the carriageway towards Ashram-Lajpat Nagar, opposite the Sarai Kale Khan Interstate Bus Terminal (ISBT). The work has occupied around three feet of road space where the elevated loop begins, with jersey barriers narrowing the carriageway.
A PWD official stated that the work is for finishing the Barapullah flyover loop and will take a couple of weeks, adding that barricading has been set up and traffic police have been informed. However, the narrowing has created significant bottlenecks due to heavy traffic volumes around Sarai Kale Khan, which hosts the ISBT, a Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) station, a major Metro station, and an entry gate to the Nizamuddin railway station.
Vehicles from Ghaziabad, eastern, and northern Delhi converge at Sarai Kale Khan before proceeding toward south Delhi, Faridabad, and Gurugram. A traffic police officer noted that merging multi-lane traffic, including vehicles descending from the Sarai Kale Khan flyover near the construction site, is a key factor behind the gridlock, prompting traffic advisories.
Simultaneously, the National Capital Region Transport Corporation has started building a bridge across the main Jangpura road to connect the Sarai Kale Khan station with its upcoming stabling yard. This ongoing work on the narrow four-lane stretch has further slowed traffic moving towards Ashram Chowk.
Additional disruptions on the Ring Road affect the carriageway from Ashram towards Kilokari, where Delhi Jal Board renovation work was followed by PWD re-carpeting. This stretch, used by commuters heading from Lajpat Nagar towards Sarai Kale Khan, Barapullah, and Noida, is expected to be completed before the end of August. Commuters reported that travelling a two- to three-kilometre stretch now takes 30 to 45 minutes instead of 10 minutes.
Congestion is expected to intensify further as repair work on three major south Delhi flyovers—Nehru Nagar, AIIMS, and Barapullah Phase-I—is scheduled to begin simultaneously within a month.
