Dwarka flyover: Flawed by design?

Experts Say Sharp Curves, Lack Of Signages Make It Dangerous

Two back-to-back incidents of motorists falling off the Dwarka flyover — one of the main accesses to Dwarka subcity — and losing their lives have once again raised concerns of safety in the construction design of the flyover. The traffic police and experts feel that sharp bends, reduced road width of the flyover and overspeeding have made it highly prone to accidents. Last year alone, over 20 fatal accidents were reported from the flyover.

‘‘There seems to be a design fault in the flyover. There are too many sharp curves in it. Due to its length, people tend to speed and anyone who is not attentive can easily hit against the railings and fall off it, said SN Shrivastava, joint commissioner of police (traffic).

say the absence of warnings or signages about the bends is the main cause for collisions. ‘‘When the flyover was constructed, there used to be a catseye installed at the bends where reflectors made it more visible and also compelled people to slow down. But with use, these have disappeared and no one has bothered to replace them. A solution would be putting new catseye and putting up some signages and warning signs informing motorists that the area is accident prone. Some rumble strips can be put up to slow down traffic and a six-foot high mesh installed at the sides to prevent people from falling off it, said an expert on condition of anonymity.

Dwarka flyover followed by the underpass had been designed to provide better connectivity to the subcity by enabling non-stop movement of traffic from Palam to Dwarka Sector 1 and 2. Due to the length of the flyover, vehicles tend to gain speed on it, despite speed checks, according to the traffic police. The width is also just two lanes on each side, as against the usual three lanes on other flyovers in the city. Experts involved in the
conception and designing said the width was narrow because the flyover was constructed on a road which had a masterplan width of just 30 metres. There were constraints of space as the area is very congested and even now, there are houses very close to it. We had to stick to the width specified in the masterplan and also leave access space for people living in areas falling under it, said a flyover expert, who was also involved in the concept design of the Dwarka flyover.

flyover caters to a heavily built-up area and provides access to about 11 lakh people residing in Dwarka, a locality which is locked between a railway line, the Najafgarh drain and airport. Many alternatives were considered but this was the only viable option. The narrow flyover goes over the railway crossing, which used to take very long to cross, the expert further said.

traffic from two ramps leading off it at Nasirpur and Manglapuri, and a pedestrian track coming up from the Palam railway station situated underneath also makes it prone to collisions.

Dwarka mishap leaves 8-yr-old alone in world

Ishwari Devi chokes every time she tries to speak about her eight-year-old grandson Kunal. ‘‘How will he survive without his parents?’’ she asks.

days after a bike accident claimed the lives of Kunal’s parents and two younger brothers, he remains the sole survivor of the family from Nangli Vihar Extension near Nangloi in west Delhi.

still does not know that he has lost all that he held dear. ‘‘No one has the courage to tell him, but he is quietly following the rituals,’’ said his maternal uncle.

to family members, deceased Deepak Devmani (27), his wife Renu (26), sons Rishab (3) and Veeru (5) were on their way to Sarita Vihar to celebrate Holi with his in-laws on Wednesday when the accident occurred. While speeding on the Palam-Dwarka flyover, Deepak crashed the bike, owned by his brother-in-law, into the side verge. The impact threw the four occupants over the three-feet high railing onto a concrete slab 25 feet below, killing them instantly.

‘‘The police version raises a few questions. The family left home around 12.30 pm. The police say the accident took place at 2.15 pm. What took them so long to reach the flyover which is only a, Kunal, who was with his maternal grandparents at Sarita Vihar at the time of the accident, began getting restless.‘‘He called up to tell us that his parents had not reached Sarita Vihar till 3 pm. We finally came to know about the incident at 8 pm. The police called us and told us to rush to DDU Hospital. They later said Deepak’s mobile had got damaged and it was only five hours later that they discovered the telephone diary in his pocket,’’ added Kunal.

‘‘My son made it a point to visit his in-laws on every major festival. We will never be able to celebrate this day again,’’ said Ishwari.

sources said Deepak was trying to make ends meets after his father passed away. ‘‘He worked as a house painter in Uttam Nagar. He lost his first wife after the birth of Kunal and Veeru. He married Renu four years ago and Rishab was born a year later,” said Ishwari.

about the flyover, Ishwari added: ‘‘The state transport department and police must ensure that no more sons are killed in the future. The police told us that two bikers died in July last year, five others have died this year. But the government is still sitting idle.’