The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Expressway works set to meet I-Day deadline

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Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Expressway works set to meet I-Day deadline

Work on flying curve over Rethibowli junction completed

- PHOTO: NAGARA GOPAL

Gearing up: PVNR Expressway at Rethibowli.

HYDERABAD: Lagging behind original schedule, work on the 11.5-km-long PVNR Elevated Expressway is progressing to meet its latest deadline of August 15.

The work on flying curve over the Rethibowli junction, considered a major engineering aspect of the project, has been completed and the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) officials express confidence on meeting the deadline of Independence Day that was agreed upon in the presence of Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy recently.

So far, 249 of the 328 piers have been completed and the officials describe the work progress as ‘good compared to earlier’. Originally, the 17.2-metre-wide expressway taken up at a cost of Rs. 439 crore was to be ready to provide connectivity by March 2008 when the new airport got operational. It also has an underpass at Aramgarh and a trumpet interchange as other major components.

Objections

However, the up and down ramps at two places on the project route seem set to be an issue with the HMDA officials. At Lakshminagar, where one of these ramps is to be located, some locals have been raising objections on shifting and relocation of a place of worship.

“The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation is attending to the matter and we expect it to be resolved at the earliest,” says the HMDA Executive Engineer B. Anand Mohan.

The delay in ramps could hamper overall completion of the project as they are likely to get added at a later date. The ramp work once started will take at least nine months’ time for completion and this means there will be no access for commuters wishing to join the expressway between Mehdipatnam and Attapur.

Part of the carpeting work is expected to be done on the completed portion by February 10 and the final coat will be taken up when the expressway work is fully through, Mr. Mohan adds.

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