Road work below Sakkardara flyover jams key market junction

Nagpur: Road construction beneath the existing Sakkardara flyover has turned it into a daily traffic flashpoint at the junction, with long vehicle queues and frequent jams during peak hours in one of east Nagpur's busiest commercial pockets.The chaos is most visible directly below the old Sakkadara flyover, where sections of the road have been dug up and barricaded, narrowing the available carriageway. The junction, already constrained by flyover pillars and heavy pedestrian movement, is now struggling to accommodate converging traffic from multiple directions. During morning and evening rush hours, motorists report delays up to 30 minutes to cross the junction.
The area houses a prominent vegetable market along with clusters of garment, utensil and daily use shops, drawing heavy footfall throughout the day especially during the evening and on weekends. Handcarts, autorickshaws, two-wheelers and goods carriers compete for limited space, while roadside parking and vendor activity further slow movement. Minor slowdowns quickly escalate into extended snarls."Earlier, it would take hardly five minutes to cross Sakkardara Square. Now during peak hours, we are stuck for at least 25-30 minutes under the flyover. Sometimes despite traffic marshals, vehicles just pile up," said Amit Tiwari, a daily commuter travelling from Indora towards Bhande Plot.The situation has intensified due to simultaneous construction activity at adjoining junctions. The stretch from Bhande Plot Square towards Dighori, forming part of ongoing corridor development, is also witnessing roadwork. On the other side, the Giripeth square to Indora stretch is under execution as well. With all three connected nodes experiencing disruption, congestion at Sakkaradara spills over rapidly, affecting the broader network.Commuters said the interconnected nature of the corridor means vehicles from Bhande Plot, Indora, Giripeth and Digori funnel into the Sakkardara junction, compounding the bottleneck beneath the flyover. Larger vehicles face difficulty manoeuvring through narrowed lanes, while pedestrian crossings remain largely unregulated during peak market hours.While the roadwork is expected to improve the stretch in the long run, residents and motorists have urged authorities to deploy additional traffic personnel and streamline on-ground management until completion. For now, Sakkardara Square remains a high-pressure junction where ongoing road construction has significantly disrupted daily movement.A senior NHAI official overseeing the road works said, "Work on the entire stretch is almost complete, with only a few patches remaining. These will be finished shortly. Traffic marshals and diversion signages are already in place. At the Sakkardara Square, barricades will be removed once the pending patches and curing process are completed, which should ease congestion. We expect to complete the remaining work within the next 20 days."