10km jams daily due to potholes at Gurgaon’s Bilaspur Chowk, police tell NHAI | Gurgaon News – The Times of India

Gurgaon: Traffic police have written to National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), highlighting the “extremely poor” condition of Bilaspur Chowk stretch on Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway.In a letter to NHAI, cops have pointed out how pothole-riddled expressway is leading to traffic jams stretching up to 10km every day. Also, police claimed the stretch has been been witnessing huge snarls for the past 10 days, leaving commuters, schoolchildren and emergency vehicles stranded. “The stretch is riddled with craters, but no effective repair work has been undertaken by NHAI or the contractor despite repeated complaints. This is most unfortunate and irresponsible,” the letter stated.The move came after DCP (traffic) Rajesh Mohan conducted an inspection at Bilaspur Chowk along with ACP (traffic- highway) Satyapal Yadav on Wednesday.Manbir Singh, sarpanch of Bhora Kalan, told TOI, “We are experiencing snarls stretching up to 10km. From Bilaspur to Sidhrawali, the highway is completely choked. Service roads are in a bad condition, and the situation has gone from bad to worse durng monsoon. For the past two years, we have been facing problems because of slow construction of the flyover. There is no effective planning while implementing traffic diversions. This stretch is a lifeline for commuters from Bilaspur and people face huge difficulties while commuting from Manesar to Pataudi.”Meanwhile, other lapses contributing to daily congestion, like no crossing for pedestrians at the junction and missing warning signages which were leading to frequent vehicle collisions, were also mentioned in the letter.The traffic police stated that in the event of any fatal accident, vehicle damage, or any ambulance getting stuck in the jam, leading to death during the “golden hour”, responsibility would rest solely with NHAI and the contractor.Cops demanded that NHAI must appoint a special nodal officer for the city to ensure timely repair of the potholes and proper upkeep of the highway.The situation at Bilaspur Chowk has been aggravated by NHAI’s ongoing flyover construction. The project was announced in 2015 to decongest traffic along the Delhi-Jaipur highway; the work instead created more chaos, with poor management of diversions.The foundation stone for the work was laid in March 2022, and completion was expected in Oct last year.Initially overseen by NHAI’s project implementing unit (PIU) Jaipur as part of a wider highway upgrade, the project was later handed over to PIU Rewari. Construction at Bilaspur Chowk started in May 2023; however, it was stalled when underground utility lines were found in the alignment. A revision in estimates and financial constraints of the contracted firm brought the project to a standstill. In Oct 2024, NHAI descoped the stalled work and floated a fresh tender in Dec. In May this year the agency was appointed with a fresh deadline of May 2027 for the completion of the 1.8 km long and six-lane flyover. It also included a three-lane service road on each side. On Sept 2, a complaint about the condition of the road was lodged with NHAI’s toll-free helpline, but police said no remedial action was taken till the next day. Cops also warned to proceed with legal action if safety would be compromised and urged NHAI to take immediate action.Meanwhile, a senior official of NHAI said that the authority will reply appropriately on the matter to the police. When asked about the poor condition of the stretch, the official attributed it to the ongoing monsoon season. “It’s raining continuously, and our team is doing repairs with GSB on a regular basis. But we are not able to carry out bituminous work in this weather. As soon as it clears, we will do bituminous immediately.”