6 Months Of Repair, Yet Broken: Why Driving On This Road Is A Nightmare | Gurgaon News

Gurgaon: Six months after work began to “strengthen and upgrade” the 5.6 km road linking Rampura Chowk and Pataudi road, travelling along the stretch is still a massive headache for commuters.
Broken in some spots, riddled with potholes in others, the road has practically reduced to a dirt track in some portions. Commuting along the road, residents say, implies added travel time as well as effort.
“We have to brace ourselves as soon as we approach that road because we know what is coming next. We bump along for 5 km, with the situation becoming even worse when there is heavy rainfall. The potholes cannot be seen at all,” said Nikita Chawla, a resident of Sector 85.
A drive along the stretch by TOI on Saturday confirmed these claims, with the potholes making themselves known as soon as one approaches the road from the service lane of NH48. Accompanying the potholes is massive amounts of dust flying around.
Further ahead, both the roundabouts along the stretch are in poor shape, housing massive craters filled with stagnant water. The stagnant puddles are also present at various other locations on both carriageways of the road, obstructing traffic and becoming gathering spots for cows and other animals.
Although the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) has been planning a project to strengthen and revamp the stretch since December 2020, the tender for the same has only been successful this year, with work finally commencing in February. Overall, the tender had to be floated three times before the work could finally be allotted.
The estimated time required for completing the project is 18 months, implying a deadline of August 2023. As part of the GMDA’s Rs 56.98 crore project, the corridor will be equipped with three major and six minor junctions and a “flexible pavement”.
When TOI visited the spot on Saturday afternoon, there was no sign of construction on any part of the road. Commuters also confirmed that construction appears to be moving relatively slowly, with workers visible on the road only two or three times a week.
GMDA officials, when questioned regarding this, blamed the pace of the work on the monsoon and said road construction will begin in full swing once the monsoon season ends.
“The main issue on the stretch is the main carriageway. Right now, the road work is held up because of the monsoon. As soon as there is a dry spell of three or four days, commuters will see steady work being undertaken on the road,” said a senior GMDA official.
In the meantime, officials said, they are working on other tasks, such as the construction of drains.
“We still have one year to complete the project, and that is enough time to finish the work even after the monsoon ends. However, we aim to complete it well before time,” added the official.
The road is among the critical corridors in the city since it not only connects two other critical stretches, namely National Highway 48 (NH48) and Pataudi road, but itself houses several gated condominiums, markets, and commercial spaces.
A GMDA study of the corridor revealed that more than 12,000 vehicles use the road everyday, including 1,800 heavy vehicles.