The newly inaugurated Maharaja Prithu Flyover in Guwahati saw significant traffic congestion on its opening day on Saturday, raising immediate questions about the adequacy of traffic planning around the key junctions connected to the new structure.
The flyover, which links the Noonmati area with Ambari along busy Maniram Dewan Road, was opened to ease connectivity between the eastern and western parts of the city. Within hours, however, commuters reported heavy traffic build-up — particularly during evening peak hours — with the Chandmari Roundabout emerging as the worst chokepoint.
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Vehicles converging from multiple directions at a single point made the Chandmari Roundabout a near-gridlock zone through the evening.
Rajib Baruah, caught in the congestion, said the roundabout design was creating confusion among drivers. "Vehicles from multiple directions are merging at the same point, which is slowing down traffic movement," he said.
Fellow commuter Jogen Kalita was more direct in his criticism. "I had said earlier that the small roundabout is a wrong design. The only solution now is to install traffic signals," he said.
Another commuter expressed surprise at seeing traffic personnel deployed on the flyover itself to regulate movement. "I travel across many cities in India and I have never seen traffic personnel controlling traffic on a flyover. This is the first time," he said.
Traffic officials acknowledged the problem and said a review is underway. A senior official confirmed that Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has directed authorities to examine the reasons behind the traffic build-up.
The official also flagged a systemic issue. "Major infrastructure projects should ideally include detailed traffic planning and consultations with traffic authorities before execution. Often such inputs are not taken adequately, and now the departments are facing the consequences," he said.
Authorities said they will analyse traffic patterns around Chandmari and consider measures to ease congestion in the coming days.