Diversions kick in for six-lane underpass to decongest Gaur Chowk
Noida: Vehicles travelling from Bisrakh and Surajpur to Noida have been restricted to the service lane on Greater Noida West Road as excavation on the carriageway began for a six-lane underpass near the congested Gaur Chowk.
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The 700-metre underpass, which is to run parallel to the Taj Highway, will allow vehicles coming from Surajpur to bypass the daily bottlenecks at Char Murti roundabout, also called Gaur Chowk, by connecting Greater Noida directly with Gaur City and Delhi-Meerut Expressway ahead.
Greater Noida Authority CEO Ravi Kumar NG told TOI that a key section of the carriageway has now been blocked due to digging at the main intersection for the underpass.
"Traffic from Bisrakh towards Noida will now use the service lane and then turn left towards Parthala. Commuters heading to Delhi-Meerut Expressway and Gaur City will have to take a left and then a U-turn to proceed. There are no restrictions for people travelling from Noida to Ek Murti Chowk ahead via the Gaur Chowk as the rotary has not been blocked," he said.
More diversions are expected on the Taj Highway as the work progresses in the coming days, the official said.
The Rs 92-crore project is expected to be ready in 18 months. Of the total length, 350 metres will stretch on either side of the roundabout.
The underpass is among the several infrastructure projects undertaken by UP govt in the region, including Noida expressway bypass, Chilla Elevated Road and a flyway linking Ek Murti Chowk to DME, which are on the drawing boards anticipating heavy traffic movement in the area once the Noida airport becomes functional.
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Gaur Chowk, a central traffic node in Greater Noida West, a housing hub accommodating over five lakh residents. The six-lane road, already under pressure from traffic pouring in from Noida, Surajpur, Crossings Republik, and the DME.
While the Parthala flyover, inaugurated in 2023 on the Vikas Marg-FNG Expressway junction, eased bottlenecks at Parthala Chowk, it shifted the snarls towards Gaur Chowk. Over the years, traffic cops have tried to ease tailbacks by blocking two arms of the rotary and creating two U-turns, about 500 metres away from the intersection.
However, with traffic volume increasing continuously, those measures proved inadequate.
With more traffic restrictions likely over the next few months before the underpass is ready, motorists fear daily bottlenecks in the area.
"While diversions are necessary, they're already causing traffic jams during peak hours. There's also dust pollution, as the contractor isn't following NGT's dust control guidelines," Amarjeet Rathore, a Gaur City resident, said.
Meanwhile, despite traffic diversions, a number of bikers were seen plying on the wrong side of the service lane. Ecovillage 1 resident Manish Kumar said, "There was already traffic pressure due to diversion, and now people driving on the wrong side are further worsening the problem. Cops should be deployed in the area to check these violations."
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