PRAYAGRAJ, July 6 -- The closure of one lane of the Shastri Bridge over the Ganga for repair work has triggered severe traffic congestion on the busy Prayagraj-Lucknow route, with commuters facing delays of four to six hours. The situation has worsened due to traffic diversion and the absence of an effective traffic management plan to handle the increased vehicular load. The bridge, which connects Daraganj and Jhunsi, is undergoing structural repairs from June 3 onwards and is scheduled to continue until July 15. While the bridge remains open, only one lane is operational. Heavy vehicles, including buses, trucks and dumpers, have been barred from using the bridge and are being diverted through alternative routes. Light vehicles such as cars and two-wheelers are allowed to pass, but they have to share the single functional lane, resulting in long queues and slow movement. The impact of the restrictions has been felt across the city, particularly on the Phaphamau bridge and the Prayagraj-Jhusi road, where traffic has remained choked for hours during peak periods. On Saturday, long lines of vehicles were seen stretching from Jhunsi to Chungi in the Bahadurpur area from around 11 am onwards. Two-wheelers, cars, auto-rickshaws and goods carriers remained trapped in the congestion for several hours. Commuters faced considerable hardship as they struggled to reach their destinations amid the heat and humidity. Many residents complained that the ongoing repair work had significantly increased traffic pressure on alternative routes and urged the administration to improve traffic regulation and provide better diversion arrangements. Traffic police personnel were deployed to manage the situation, but the heavy volume of vehicles made it difficult to ease the congestion quickly. According to deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Neeraj Pandey, the traffic congestion is due to excessive vehicular pressure on the narrow single lane Phaphamau bridge not meant to cater to such excessive crowds. "Moreover in the past three days, an extra burden of nearly 40,000 candidates pouring in Prayagraj to appear in the TET examination and in the evening returning back to their homes also amplified the mess in the area. Also, the reopening of the high court and schools have also added to the existing chaos as lawyers going to court besides school buses and other vehicles transporting children can also not be avoided," he said. As per the official, the construction division of Public Works Department (PWD) has been asked to complete the repair work in its stipulated deadline of July 15, as from July 30 the Jhunsi bridge would be closed for Kanwar Yatra from July 30, 2026 onwards....