It is 1 pm. At Sadar Bazar Cantonment Metro station, Google Maps estimates a 35-minute drive to the Old Rao Tula Ram (RTR) flyover. Twenty-five minutes later, the estimate remains unchanged.Nagender (51), an autorickshaw driver who lives in Dwarka Sector 14, shakes his head in frustration. Traffic around him is barely moving.“There is never this much crowd here. Whoever stepped out today got stuck. For 25 minutes, the map has been showing 35 minutes. We are completely standing still. It shows 21 minutes for 2 km,” he says.Next to the RTR flyover, traffic has also come to a complete halt at Arjun Path. At five points on the 6-km stretch, traffic has been halted for as long as 20 minutes.A drive that usually takes less than 20 minutes takes Nagender an hour.The issue: Temporary closure of the Old RTR flyover carriageway towards Vasant Vihar since Wednesday, after cracks were detected at two locations. The carriageway is likely to remain shut until Sunday-Monday, with motorists diverted onto the adjoining service road.“When I came to Delhi in 1992, there was nothing here. There was no flyover, and today the jam is happening only because one flyover is closed,” Nagender says.Story continues below this adThe flyover is a key link for traffic from Indira Gandhi International Airport towards Vasant Vihar and South Delhi. It is also important for commuters travelling from Gurgaon to South Delhi, many of whom continue onwards to Noida and other NCR cities. Though barely 900 m long, it carries nearly two lakh vehicles a day, according to Delhi Traffic Police officers.A senior officer said personnel spotted the cracks and immediately alerted the Public Works Department. The traffic police also updated Google Maps to reflect the closure and diversion.At the repair site, Ram Swarup, a supervisor, says, “The repair work will be completed today. But curing work is going on and concrete will take time to gain strength.” Curing refers to keeping freshly-poured concrete, brick masonry or plaster continuously wet.Traffic police officers said the flyover is likely to reopen by Sunday night or Monday morning.Story continues below this adShankar Mohan, a worker at the site, says he has never seen the stretch so crowded. As a truck rolls past, he climbs aboard, followed by other workers.“The truck won’t stop here today. We will have to run. If it stops, then there will be a jam here too. Not a single vehicle can stop even for a second today,” he says.The closure of the flover has disrupted traffic across Delhi-NCR. National Highway 48 towards Mahipalpur and the Mehrauli-Gurgaon (MG) Road corridor are under pressure following restrictions on traffic between Gurgaon and Delhi. Traffic was heavy through the morning on Thursday but intensified between 7 pm and 8 pm, officials said.According to a Gurugram Traffic Police advisory, only passenger vehicles headed to Delhi Airport can use NH 48 towards Mahipalpur. Other vehicles have been advised to take alternative routes, with South Delhi-bound traffic directed via IFFCO Chowk and MG Road, entering Delhi through the Aya Nagar border or the Bandhwari toll route.Story continues below this adOfficials said additional traffic personnel were deployed to manage the congestion, with four to five officers stationed at each junction.Avinash (27), who is delivering materials to the World Trade Centre, says he has already spent two hours on the road. “It’s completely jammed from Mahipalpur. The situation is really bad. I don’t know how much more time it will take ahead,” he adds.For Arti (35), who has run a paan shop beneath the flyover since 2015, the traffic has brought an unfamiliar clientele.“Today I saw some new faces for the first time. Otherwise, only local auto drivers come to my shop,” she says, adding that the jam began around 10 am. Welcoming the repair work, she says, “Better late than never.”Story continues below this adGaurav Kumar, who has driven a cab in Delhi-NCR for four months, tried waiting out the congestion. He slept from noon to 3 pm, hoping the roads would clear. Now headed to Rohini, he finds the jam persists. “I slept for three hours thinking that the jam would end,” he says.