Due to repair and rehabilitation of Defence Colony Flyover at Defence Colony and replacement of damaged expansion joints of Nehru Place Flyover on Outer Ring Road, commuters were stuck in heavy traffic snarls on the Ring Road and the adjoining areas in South Delhi on Wednesday.
A fire in an Indian Oil tanker near South Ext-1 market underpass catalysed the traffic jams and long traffic snarls were reported in the carriageway from AIIMS towards Moolchand. The fire was brought under control in 20 minutes and it was learnt that at the time of the incident, the tanker was empty.
However, the traffic police had already issued an advisory for commuters and requested them to avoid the stretch of Defence Colony and Nehru Place flyovers as the repair and rehabilitation work are under process.
According to the traffic department, heavy traffic snarls were reported in Kalkaji Mandi Flyover, Nehru Place flyover, BRT Corridor, Chittaranjan Park, Alaknanda, Moolchand, Lajpat Nagar, East of Kailash, South Extension and other adjoining roads. “It took me around half an hour to cross Nehru Place flyover as the traffic was heavy at noon. Observing traffic snarls near Modi Mill (near Okhla Mandi), I opted for the Kalkaji flyover, but was stuck for 15 minutes on the flyover,” said Nikhil Sinha, an IT professional. A senior traffic officer said: “The Defence Colony flyover has been partially closed. In the first phase, from May 4 to May 21, the carriageway going from Lodhi Road Flyover side towards Moolchand has been closed for traffic. Traffic from both sides will move on the other carriageway.”