Traffic coming from Mayur Vihar on the new Barapullah Phase III elevated corridor, vehicles joining from the Sundial loop and those approaching from the DND side all meet at Sarai Kale Khan before entering the narrower existing Barapullah flyover. The result: Long queues where all the three lanes merge due to availability of less space, slowing traffic on the new corridor as well as roads around Sarai Kale Khan.According to Delhi Traffic Police and the PWD, who have conducted a joint inspection of the whole corridor, the sharp merger and the difference in road capacity are the immediate reasons for the bottleneck that commuters have been facing since Wednesday, a day after the flyover was launched.But officials have also flagged a larger problem – the traffic pattern for which the project was planned more than a decade ago has changed considerably by the time it was opened for public use.Officials said the project was conceived at a time when traffic movement between East Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad and South Delhi was different.Also Read | Barapullah Phase 3 jam continues into Day 2, ambulances caught in trafficOriginally scheduled for completion in 2017, construction delays pushed its opening to 2026. In the intervening years, the number of vehicles has risen, so has the population in East Delhi and the wider NCR, resulting in commuting patterns changing significantly.The corridor, meant to redistribute traffic from some of the city’s busiest routes, including the DND Flyway and National Highway 24, is now attracting a substantial volume of vehicles from precisely those routes, adding pressure to the roads around the new flyover.Phase III brings a large volume of vehicles from the Mayur Vihar side towards the existing flyover. At the Sundial loop, another stream joins the movement, while traffic approaching from the DND side adds further pressure. These movements come together where the available road space reduces sharply.Story continues below this adTraffic police have described the merger near Sundial as sharp and rectangular. Instead of allowing vehicles to gradually move into the existing flyover, the design forces them to merge over a short distance. Officials have now proposed changing the geometry to create a smoother curve and a more gradual merge.The lane configuration makes the problem worse. While Phase III is three lanes wide, the existing Barapullah flyover at the merging point is narrower. Several lanes therefore converge before entering the narrower section, with vehicles jostling for space.Also Read | 9 years after initial deadline, Delhi’s Barapullah Phase III flyover launchedAuthorities are now considering introducing traffic control measures at the merging points. A signal is among the options being examined to regulate vehicles entering the existing flyover and prevent large volumes from reaching the bottleneck at the same time. Until a permanent arrangement is put in place, traffic personnel have been manually regulating the flow.Since Wednesday, queues of several kilometres were reported on the new flyover, with commuters facing delays much longer than the journey times advertised before its launch. The congestion subsequently spread to other surrounding major roads.Story continues below this adThere is also an information problem, officials said. Traffic police said there is a need to update Google Maps and other navigation platforms so they reflect the latest road configuration and real-time traffic conditions. The aim is to allow navigation systems to divert vehicles towards alternatives such as NH 24 when Barapullah approaches saturation.Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) D K Gupta said, “Commuters are advised to remain attentive to traffic advisories, follow the directions of traffic personnel and use alternate routes wherever advised, particularly during peak hours. Delhi Traffic Police remains committed to ensuring smooth, safe and uninterrupted movement of traffic for all road users.”