Sector Road partially shut for three years, wrong side driving makes it risky, say commuters

Thousands of commuters from sectors 96, 97, 98, 99 and 100 have a harrowing time using the ‘Sector Road’ that runs parallel to Noida-Greater Noida Expressway as the Noida authority officials have partially closed the road for over three years to build an underpass, and a new administrative building in Sector 96.

Monday’s accident involving a Jaguar and a scooter that resulted in the death of the woman scooter rider also took place on this stretch, which prone to accidents as commuters drive on the wrong side as the Noida authority is yet to open this road for smooth flow of traffic.

Following the accident, commuters raised questions as to why the Noida authority took so long to build the underpass and open up the road.

The authority had started constructed the underpass in 2019 with a deadline of 18 months, but even now the work is far from over, say commuters. The Gautam Budh Nagar traffic police has also asked the authority multiple times to address the issue of slow work as it disrupts the smooth flow of traffic not only on the Sector Road or service road but also on Noida-Greater Noida Expressway, which is used by an estimated 100,000 commuters daily.

The accident involving the Jaguar isn’t the first one on the stretch. Several other accidents have taken place there due to wrong side driving, said commuters.

The authority is building the underpass using ”push back” technology and that is leading to road cave-ins along the expressway, further causing snarls, particularly during peak hours.

“My car also met with an accident on October 10 this year near the e-Square building, where a Jaguar ran over a woman last night. In my case, I was taking a U-turn and a vehicle coming from the wrong side hit me. This has become a very dangerous spot because one lane of the Sector Road is closed for the past several years. During winter fog, accidents increase,” said NJ Thomas, a daily commuter who has his office in Sector 96.

Due to the slow work on the underpass the service lane of the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway is closed completely. “As a result, commuters travelling on this 2km stretch of the Sector Road are prone to accidents. We have written to the Noida authority and the traffic police multiple times, but they do not seem interested in addressing this grave issue,” said Vinay Sachdeva, another daily commuter who lives in Sector 105.

“We have asked the Noida authority to complete the construction work at the earliest. Also, we have stepped up the enforcement drives and awareness drives among commuters to ensure safe driving on this stretch and other parts of the city,” said deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Ganesh Saha.

The Noida authority, meanwhile, said it has not fixed any fresh deadline for the completion of work.

“We are looking into issues related to the underpass construction for appropriate action in this regard,” said Manvendra Singh, additional chief executive officer, Noida authority.