Gurgaon: A traffic police trial at Shankar Chowk led to long snarls, with congestion spilling over to multiple stretches around the junction on Wednesday morning.The trial, which began on Sunday, introduced a new U-turn near DLF Cyber Park to decongest Shankar Chowk by allowing vehicles coming from IFFCO Chowk, Rajiv Chowk and NH8 to head towards Cyber City and Sikanderpur. But commuters got stuck for up to 25 minutes during peak hours following the trial, which was aimed at easing congestion at the junction.Lane barricades have also been installed to separate traffic streams that earlier merged at the junction and created bottlenecks. The existing U-turn, around 100 metres behind the new one, continues to remain operational as part of the trial. Officials said the arrangement will be made permanent if it proves successful.A TOI reality check found heavy traffic on Shankar Road towards Udyog Vihar-Dundahera as police personnel, assisted by DLF traffic guards, repeatedly halted vehicles on the service lane outside DLF Cyber Park for a few minutes at a time to clear traffic on the main carriageway of Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway.During Wednesday’s morning rush, TOI found that traffic on the service lane outside the DLF Cyber Park remained stationary for several minutes at regular intervals. Police personnel deployed at the spot said the traffic was being stopped to allow vehicles coming from IFFCO Chowk to enter DLF Cyber Park safely and to avoid conflict with vehicles moving towards Delhi on the expressway.Krishan Arora, who works in Udyog Vihar Phase III, said, “It took me around 25 minutes to reach the main highway from Udyog Vihar Phase III as the road was jam-packed in the morning. That was really frustrating and exhausting.”ACP (Highways) Satyapal Yadav told TOI, “We are collecting the feedback from our teams and the commuters and will hold a detailed meeting regarding this on Thursday and will take necessary measures to streamline the traffic, which is our sole motive behind the new traffic arrangement at Shankar Chowk.”The impact was also visible at the existing U-turn towards Cyber City and Sikanderpur, where commuters faced long waits as police intermittently stopped vehicles coming from Cyber Hub to provide uninterrupted movement to traffic travelling from IFFCO Chowk towards Delhi. Traffic congestion was also witnessed on the IFFCO Chowk-Delhi carriageway whenever vehicles on that stretch were briefly halted to facilitate traffic turning towards Udyog Vihar and DLF Cyber Park from the Cyber Hub side.A traffic policeman, requesting anonymity, said the new arrangement slowed traffic movement compared with the earlier system. “Earlier, we used to clear traffic on Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway by around 11. 30am by managing vehicle movement based on traffic flow. If traffic coming from Cyber Hub or Sikanderpur was heavy, we would briefly stop vehicles from IFFCO Chowk and vice versa. That helped in clearing congestion much faster. Now, with the service lane from the Oberoi Hotel side towards the expressway also closed, commuters have to take a U-turn to access the highway, which has slowed traffic too. The older U-turn is also getting blocked,” the policeman said.Another traffic policeman said the exercise was still in its initial phase and would take time to stabilise. “This is only the third day of the trial. We are trying our best to manage and divide the traffic flow. So far, traffic has not been as smooth as expected, especially during peak hours. We have also installed lane barricades and signages to streamline movement,” he said.Under the revised arrangement, vehicles coming from Udyog Vihar will continue to use the underpass near Ambience Mall to travel towards Cyber City, IFFCO Chowk and Sikanderpur. Vehicles using either of the two U-turns, however, are permitted only to move towards Cyber City and Sikanderpur and are not allowed to head towards IFFCO Chowk.“While the trial is on and we are regularly checking the traffic flow, apt measurements will be taken to remove or avoid the traffic issues near Shankar Chowk. With the latest arrangement, at least there is no clash between the traffic coming or merging from different directions though the traffic might have got slow,” ACP Satyapal told TOI, adding, the traffic is under regular scrutiny by the traffic cops and the engineering department of the traffic police.Shankar Chowk remains a major traffic bottleneck, especially during peak hours, due to heavy vehicle and pedestrian movement. Traffic police data showed that more than 1,000 pedestrians cross the junction within 15 minutes during peak hours, while nearly 4,000 vehicles pass through the area. A previous traffic survey conducted by the engineering wing of the traffic police suggested multiple measures to improve traffic flow at the junction, including the new U-turn.The survey found that Shankar Chowk ‘s congestion stems from both heavy vehicle traffic and large pedestrian volumes. Officials said pedestrian flow reverses between peak hours — morning from Cyber City to Udyog Vihar, evening the opposite. To address the pedestrian movement, a new foot overbridge is being constructed to allow people to cross the road without affecting vehicular traffic. Meanwhile, pedestrians coming from the Udyog Vihar side can continue using the subway outside Cyber Park to reach Cyber City, IFFCO Chowk and Sikanderpur.The survey also suggested installing a 176-metre-long barricade to prevent vehicles from moving straight and taking unauthorised U-turns. As part of the earlier recommendations, vehicles coming from Jaipur were advised to use the underpass to make U-turns.
