Jaipur: A project meant to make Mahal Road signal-free and improve traffic flow has triggered fresh concerns after container trucks got stuck at newly built U-turns on two consecutive days, causing snarls and raising questions over the design.Videos of the trucks struggling to negotiate the turns have been circulated widely on social media. The incidents have put the spotlight on whether the U-turn bays have enough turning radius for heavy commercial vehicles and whether proper traffic and design assessments were carried out before construction.The trouble comes days after TOI, in its Sept 18 report, flagged concerns over the design of the U-turn bays. The report had pointed out that the bays had narrowed parts of the main carriageway, with experts questioning the available width and its impact on traffic movement.The U-turn project was conceived to remove signals on Mahal Road, with vehicles expected to use the newly constructed bays instead of halting at traffic lights. But the removal of signals has also eliminated controlled pedestrian crossing points that were available when traffic stopped at red lights.To address this, JDA has installed speed breakers at junctions to slow vehicles and allow pedestrians to cross. However, the move has raised another concern as IRC guidelines prohibit speed breakers on grade-one roads, which Mahal Road is.JDA has sanctioned Rs 12 crore for seven U-turn bays between Jagatpura RoB and the Dravyavati river culvert. Four of these have already been opened to traffic.JDA engineers associated with the project were contacted for comment on the incidents, but they did not respond.
