Three months after the revised signal timings came into effect, the approach to the Ganga Barrage is still backing up past the Nawabganj crossing every weekday morning.
The civic body now says it will scrap the phased signal plan and build a signal free stretch instead. The proposal, tabled at last week’s board meeting, covers the two and a half kilometre run between the barrage and the Nawabganj junction.
What the plan actually changes
The current design places four signals along the stretch, two of which were added in April to manage the merge from the service lane. Under the new proposal, three of those go, replaced by a pair of underpasses and a widened service road on the eastern side.
Shopkeepers along the service lane say the first they heard of the widening was through the tender notice. Around forty units front the affected stretch, most of them small hardware and auto parts businesses that have operated there for decades.
Traders say they were left out
The estimate presented to the board came in higher than the figure circulated in June, driven mostly by land acquisition on the eastern side. Members asked the works department to return with a revised breakdown before the tender is finalised.
For commuters the immediate picture does not change. The existing signals stay in place until construction begins, which means the morning queue past Nawabganj is likely to hold through the rest of the year.
The signals were always a stopgap. What this corridor needs is grade separation, and everyone involved has known that for six years.A senior engineer with the works department
