Residents of several colonies surrounding the RTC Crossroads and Indira Park may heave a sigh of relief finally, as the eternally annoying barricades are set to go in a month’s time.
Construction of the elevated corridor between VST and Indira Park is set to be completed by mid-July, GHMC Engineering officials informed.
Though the flyover with steel girders was proposed in 2018, its construction got inordinately delayed owing to funding issues, and COVID-19 pandemic. Ironically, it was proposed to fabricate the bridge partly in steel, in order to fast-pace the construction.
Owing to the slow pace of work, and damaged road underneath, and due to diversions imposed in the later phase, a large number of commuters who routinely used to take the road faced hardships. As recently as in March this year, the Hyderabad Traffic Police imposed three-month long restrictions on the stretch to facilitate the works pertaining to the flyover, upon intervention from Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development K. T. Rama Rao.
“Presently, the span passing over the Metro Rail line alone is the major work remaining. After this, black topping will be finished and crash barriers will be installed,” an engineering section official informed.
Lighting poles will be installed on the central median on the 2.62 kilometre long bidirectional corridor, he said.
Being constructed at an estimated expenditure of ₹350 crore, the flyover has its piers, pier caps, and girders cast in steel, besides RCC deck slabs cast in-situ. It is designed for a speed of 40 kilometres per hour.
Once completed, the corridor is expected to address the traffic issues at Indira Park junction, Ashok Nagar Crossroads, RTC Crossroads and Baghlingampally intersection, besides facilitating conflict-free traffic movement towards Hindi Mahavidyalaya and Osmania University.
A second-level independent flyover from Ramnagar to Baghlingampally proposed as part of the same project component under the Strategic Road Development Plan has been shelved after protests by the local people, and questions about the need for the same at the relatively traffic-free location.
