The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : New airport road works tardy

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jun 11, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

New airport road works tardy

M.L.Melly Maitreyi

Will HUDA complete link road projects as per schedule?

VITAL LINK: Work on the Expressway in progress at Mehditpatnam. — File photo.

HYDERABAD: Given the chaotic traffic prevailing in the city, it may seem a bit far fetched to visualise a scenario of speeding along the dedicated route to the International Airport coming up at Shamshabad nine months from now.

While indications are that the airport construction is very much on schedule, there are apprehensions whether Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (HUDA) will be ready by March 2008 with its key link road projects.

These are the 24 kilometres long first phase of the Outer Ring Road (ORR) from Gachibowli to Shamshabad and the Elevated Expressway from Mehdipatnam to Aramghar Junction.

Land acquisition controversies apart, ORR's first phase has been dogged by delays from the beginning as the issues pertaining to taking over land of Andhra Pradesh Police Academy and the Chilkur reserve forest area were resolved only after a considerable time.

The road will be of great help to visitors to the Hi-tec City and Gachibowli areas as the 22 kilometres road can be covered in 15 to 20 minutes. Sixty per cent of the travellers are expected to take this route and the by-pass road to Old Mumbai and Bangalore highway.

Officials, however, claim that work is very much on course. "Twenty per cent of work on four-lane has been completed and it is the toughest part. We are just two months behind schedule from the earlier time frame of December to connect the four lane highway to the International Airport," says ORR Project Director Piyush Kumar.

Expressway too

The 11.5 kilometre long Elevated Expressway completion by March next year also remains doubtful as the crucial National Highway Authority of India's clearance for construction of a `trumpet inter-change' flyover on the Bangalore Highway is yet to come though permission was sought three months ago.

Interchange flyover would facilitate smooth flow of vehicles coming from various directions to the airport. "We are expecting NHAI clearance within a week and the interchange flyover can be constructed in six months once we get clearance," explains a HUDA official.

HUDA is also thinking of completing the elevated flyover from Mehdipatnam to Musi in the first phase, where city traffic is high, with a down ramp to begin with and open up for vehicular movement.

Along with the trumpet interchange flyover and the inner ring road from Rethibowli to Aramghar is to be taken up for providing important road links to the new airport. Remaining work is likely to be completed by October 2008.

The Elevated Expressway is slated to cut down travel time by 40 minutes. On its completion it is expected that one can travel from Banjara Hills to the international airport in just 35 minutes.

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