The Delhi RTR flyover has been temporarily closed on the carriageway from the Indira Gandhi International Airport towards Vasant Vihar after two cracks were found on its road surface, triggering diversions, severe congestion and a three-kilometre queue on the Delhi-Jaipur Highway.
The cracks were noticed on Wednesday, following which the Delhi Traffic Police informed the Public Works Department (PWD). Repair work was started at both affected locations after coordination between the two departments. The closure is expected to continue until October 26, according to the traffic police.
Vehicles travelling towards Vasant Vihar are being diverted through the service road. Traffic is moving slowly because the service road is handling a larger volume of vehicles than usual. The diversion has created a bottleneck behind the flyover, while motorists travelling towards other areas have also been caught in the congestion.
The RTR flyover is a heavily used route and regularly experiences traffic pressure even when fully operational. With one carriageway closed, vehicles arriving from the airport have faced delays of up to one and a half hours, according to the report. The disruption has also affected traffic approaching Delhi from Gurugram.
The traffic police said the diverted route towards Vasant Vihar was directed towards Dhaula Kuan. The change increased vehicle pressure on the Delhi-Gurugram border, where long queues began forming at the Sarhaul border at around 7.30 pm on Wednesday. The queue extended beyond Shankar Chowk, resulting in a traffic jam of nearly three kilometres on the highway.
Traffic police have requested an update on Google Maps to show that the affected flyover carriageway is closed. They have also asked that the service-road route towards Vasant Kunj be displayed as an alternative. Additional traffic personnel have been deployed in the area to manage vehicle movement and guide motorists through the diversion.
The PWD began repairs after the cracks were reported, but the flyover will not automatically reopen once the repair work is completed. Traffic police said the repaired stretch will first be examined against safety standards. A decision on reopening the carriageway will be taken after that assessment.
Until the repair and safety checks are completed, motorists travelling towards Vasant Vihar and nearby areas have been advised to use alternative routes. The traffic police have not indicated that the flyover will reopen before the scheduled completion of the repair work on October 26.
