A couple of flyovers open on Delhi - Gurgaon NH-8 highway amid chaos and confusion.....

So finally the day had arrived. As I was going to office in my car, I noticed that on a couple of flyovers temporary gates decorated with flowers had been deployed. So the time had finally come for the Radisson flyover in Delhi, and the Udyog Vihar flyover in Gurgaon to be inaugurated by some VIP.

Dreaming of a smooth drive in the evening I headed for office screaming to almost everyone in the way that the "Drive back home today evening, is going to be a drive of the lifetime....". Only I know how i passed my time in office eagerly waiting to drive on the brand new expressway which would been opened by now.

Leaving office at 6:30 in the evening, I had no idea that instead of a smooth 40 minutes drive back to my place what lay ahead of me was a bumpy ride back home haunted by dust, madness and yes LOTS OF TRAFFIC. Yes you heard me right "LOTS OF TRAFFIC". Putting it candidly after a couple of flyovers were opened on the Delhi - Gurgaon NH 8 expressway for me the travelling time increased by 30-40 minutes, and I was able to reach home only at around quarter to nine. Blame it partly on the bottlenecks formed due to opening of new expressway stretches. Nevertheless the major blame goes to the people driving on the roads, who have absolutely zero driving sense, unknown about the concept of lanes on the roads. In addition they seemed to have a certain hatred towards red color so that every time they see a red light they feel its right to JUMP it.

Adding to the woes is the pace on which the work is being done on the highway, and the new routes which are formed, blocked everyday. In fact going home every day on the expressway one never knows what route are you gonna take. Reminds me of the punchline of one of the famous software companies "Where do you want to go today ?"

Anyways what I have learnt since my childhood is that "Life is for the fearless", and keeping that in mind I would take the same expressway going back home today, not fearing the various challenges which might turn up my way. Do wish me "All The Best".. as I really need it and possibly deserve it tooooo.......

Will post my today evening's experience with you as soon as I reach back home today.

Updates - Exactly a week later

After the initial teething problems, it does seems that the couple of new flyovers which have recently opened up, on Delhi Gurgaon NH-8 expressway do provide some relief to the commuters esp. in the non - office hours. The commuting time during these hours has come down to 25-35 minutes, and even during the peak hours the time taken from office to my home (approx 27 kms now) is a max of 1 hour. So a bit of relief or I guess maybe a trailer of the big dream (i.e. from my home to office in 25 minutes any time of the day) ahead. India is truly shining in some aspects. :-)

Updates - Three weeks later
Some more good news now. Travelling time in the morning (even during the normal traffic hours) is down to an average of 35 minutes compared to about 60 minutes a month ago. In addition during the evenings also, it take around 60-70 minutes to reach back home. So all in all all this wait has been worth the effort :-)