Delhi–Gurgaon drive riddled with flaws: Study flags RTR stretch as major traffic nightmare

For lakhs of daily commuters, the drive between Rao Tula Ram Marg and the Delhi–Gurgaon border on NH-48 is less a commute and more an obstacle course.

A recent study accessed by TOI the Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE) has noted just how flawed the 13.8-kilometre stretch is—pinpointing road geometry issues, erratic lane widths, missing signboards, and sheer disregard for traffic discipline as reasons behind the endless jams.

The findings come from a larger traffic engineering review launched by Delhi Police with experts to analyse problem corridors in south Delhi.


RTR Marg and Chirag Dilli were chosen as test cases; the RTR report is now complete, while Chirag Dilli has also been mapped earlier.

"On a stretch as critical and as long as this, it's important to first understand the exact problems before framing solutions. Mapping these points can give us a clear direction to work on both immediate measures and long-term fixes. Now we can ask what the solutions for congestion can be and move forward in that direction," an traffic officer told TOI.

Why RTR matters

RTR isn’t just another city road. It connects Dhaula Kuan, Munirka and Vasant Kunj with the airport, Cyber City and even the Jaipur highway.

For south Delhi, it is the arterial lifeline to employment hubs and defence institutions alike. But with 11 intersections—seven of them signalised—between Kapashera and Munirka, the stretch regularly buckles under pressure, reported TOI.

According to IRTE’s director Rohit Baluja, the biggest bottleneck is inconsistent traffic design. Lanes balloon and shrink without warning, buses halt wherever they please, and makeshift markets spill into carriageways. Add signals that aren’t aligned to codes and the near-total absence of information signage, and the road becomes a daily gamble.

"This corridor is not just a city road but a major arterial link connecting south Delhi with NH48, the airport and several defence institutions. Regular jams during peak hours cost millions of man-hours, cause fuel wastage and add to pollution. The single biggest gap is the haphazard traffic engineering — lanes that contract and expand abruptly, buses parked along the route, the Sunday bazaar near Malai Mandir, signals not aligned to codes, and, importantly, missing information signboards," he told the media outlet.

Nine critical pain points

The IRTE study has flagged nine particularly problematic zones. Near Malai Mandir, buses are forced to stop mid-road because the designated bay is blocked, triggering immediate pile-ups. At Basant Gaon, jersey barriers meant to streamline vehicles only end up choking the carriageway, while pedestrians are left to sprint across moving traffic.

"Unless lane uniformity, proper signage and stricter enforcement are ensured, piecemeal solutions will keep failing. The issues have been mapped and presented to Delhi Traffic Police, who having to bear the brunt of traffic management, often resort to ad hoc remedial measures. It is the obligation of the road maintenance and operating authorities to ensure traffic moves efficiently," Baluja said.

The most notorious mismatch is the airport flyover, where vehicles spread into eight lanes before being squeezed into three.

This “bottleneck compression” causes tailbacks that ripple for kilometres. Nearby, at the Mahipalpur Bypass and IGI Terminal-1 diversion, missing signage pushes drivers into desperate manoeuvres—overshooting exits, reversing in live lanes, and weaving into service roads.

The situation isn’t much better at under-construction stretches like the Dwarka diversion, where shifting barricades and dust clouds leave drivers guessing. Even junctions like Munirka and Moti Bagh see frequent signal failures, turning crossings into free-for-alls.

What lies ahead

According to TOI, traffic officers argue that diagnosing the exact triggers is the first step before meaningful solutions can be framed. For now, the findings have been handed over to Delhi Traffic Police, who often fall back on ad-hoc measures in the absence of structural fixes.

What is clear, though, is that without consistent lanes, clear signboards, and designated stopping points for buses, commuters will continue to lose millions of man-hours each year on RTR Marg—fuel wasted, tempers frayed, and pollution rising.