Delhi’s Public Works Department will appoint a consultant to assess the entire Barapullah Phase 3 corridor after congestion emerged soon after its opening, while officials are considering an additional lane near Sarai Kale Khan and a U-turn on Ring Road.
PWD Minister Pravesh Sahib Singh said the consultant would examine the corridor and recommend both short-term and long-term measures. The assessment will cover traffic management, lane channelisation, merging points and the distribution of vehicles arriving from different routes.
One immediate proposal is to remove the footpath on the lane from Sarai Kale Khan towards ITO and use the space to create another road lane. The PWD is also examining the possibility of constructing a U-turn on Ring Road near the gurdwara to ease local traffic movement.
According to the minister, the proposed U-turn could allow residents of Siddharth Extension to travel directly towards Old Barapullah. It could also provide easier access towards Lajpat Nagar, INA and AIIMS, reducing the need for lengthy diversions and helping address wrong-way movement.
The minister said the congestion could not be resolved only by modifying the road or the elevated corridor. He added that the causes of the current problem would be reviewed, but residents should not bear the consequences of the issue.
The government also raised questions about the project’s financial and execution history. The minister said an additional payment of around Rs 640 crore had been made to the contractor through arbitration and that the Barapullah project had faced delays. The report did not provide further details about the arbitration proceedings or the project’s original and revised timelines.
The announcement comes alongside a special traffic enforcement campaign by the Delhi Traffic Police’s southern range. Between September 30 and October 6, the police took 17,627 actions for traffic-rule violations and registered 51 first information reports under Section 281 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for dangerous driving.
The PWD minister also warned against unauthorised excavation of newly built roads. He said new roads require time to settle and that the department would file first information reports if public property was damaged by digging. The consultant’s corridor assessment and the proposed traffic-management measures will determine the next steps for the Barapullah Phase 3 route.
