Gurgaon: Traffic police have introduced a trial U-turn at Shankar Chowk, near DLF Cyber Park, to enable vehicles coming from IFFCO Chowk, Rajiv Chowk and NH-48 to head towards Cyber City and Sikanderpur without conflicting with traffic coming from Cyber City.Cops have also created lane barricades to streamline the movement of vehicles and separate the traffic flow that earlier merged at the junction, creating bottlenecks during peak hours. However, the existing U-turn, which is around 100 metres behind the new turn, continues to function.The trial, which started on Sunday, allows vehicles coming from IFFCO Chowk and Cyber City sides to exit towards Cyber City through two separate U-turn points (the existing and the newly opened).The new arrangement is designed to split traffic and reduce load on the old U-turn. Officials said it will be made permanent if the trial is successful.Meanwhile, vehicles coming from Udyog Vihar will continue to use the underpass near Ambience Mall to move towards Cyber City, IFFCO Chowk and Sikanderpur.However, vehicles using either of the U-turns will not be allowed to move towards IFFCO Chowk and will only be permitted to travel towards Cyber City and further towards Sikanderpur.As per the new route plan, vehicles moving from Cyber Hub can take the U-turn to move towards Cyber City from the existing one, while traffic coming from NH-48, Rajiv Chowk, IFFCO Chowk and Udyog Vihar Phase V towards Cyber City can move ahead and take the newly opened U-turn in front of Cyber Park.Shankar Chowk remains a major traffic bottleneck, especially during peak hours, due to heavy vehicle and pedestrian movement.Traffic police data has shown that more than 1,000 pedestrians cross the junction within 15 minutes during peak hours, while nearly 4,000 vehicles pass through the area.A previous traffic survey conducted by the engineering wing of the traffic police suggested multiple measures to improve traffic flow at the junction, including the new U-turn.The survey found that Shankar Chowk’s congestion stems from both heavy vehicle traffic and large pedestrian volumes. Officials said pedestrian flow reverses between peak hours — morning from Cyber City to Udyog Vihar, evening the opposite.To address the pedestrian movement, a new foot overbridge is being constructed to allow people to cross the road without affecting vehicular traffic. Meanwhile, pedestrians coming from the Udyog Vihar side can continue using the subway outside Cyber Park to reach Cyber City, IFFCO Chowk and Sikanderpur.The survey also suggested installing a 176-metre-long barricade to prevent vehicles from moving straight and taking unauthorised U-turns. As part of the earlier recommendations, vehicles coming from Jaipur were advised to use the underpass to make U-turns.
