Vijayawada: In a major relief to commuters and festive holiday travellers, the Vijayawada West Bypass from Chinna Avutapalli to Kaza Toll Plaza will partially become operational from the upcoming Sankranti festival. As part of a trial run, one-way traffic will be permitted for cars and two-wheelers between Kaza and Gollapudi to ease traffic congestion in Vijayawada city during the peak festive season.

According to officials, this temporary arrangement would enable vehicles coming from Guntur to directly proceed towards Eluru via Gollapudi and Chinna Avutapalli without entering Vijayawada city limits. The move is expected to significantly reduce traffic pressure on key roads in the city, especially during Sankranti when vehicular movement increases manifold from Hyderabad to Vijayawada, Eluru, Rajamahendravaram, Kakinada, Visakhapatnam, and towards Srikakulam and Bhubaneswar.

NTR District Collector Dr G Lakshmisha and Police Commissioner SV Rajasekhar Babu had been paying special attention to the progress of the West Bypass project with a focus on reducing traffic hazards in the city. The NHAI is closely monitoring all arrangements to ensure smooth traffic movement. Officials said adequate street lighting has already been installed on the Krishna River bridge and that illumination would be extended to bridges at Palavagu, Kondaveeti Vagu and key underpasses to ensure safety of motorists.

Major stretches nearing completion

The Vijayawada West Bypass project involves the construction of a 17.88-km stretch from Kaza to Gollapudi, along with a 30-km six-lane highway between Gollapudi and Chinna Avutapalli. While the Gollapudi–Chinna Avutapalli stretch has already been completed and opened for all categories of vehicles since November, work on the Kaza–Gollapudi stretch is nearing completion. Officials have set a target to make one side of this section operational by Sankranti.

It may be recalled that on the occasion of Sankranti last year, the NTR District Police had permitted traffic movement on the Vijayawada West Bypass between Gollapudi and Chinna Avutapalli on an experimental basis to manage the heavy festive rush. Following the positive response, the same stretch was subsequently used for traffic diversions during major occasions such as Dasara Sarannavaratri celebrations, Bhavani Deeksha Viramana, and other important festivals. Officials said the temporary diversions yielded encouraging results, significantly reducing congestion within Vijayawada city limits and ensuring smoother vehicular movement. Based on this experience, authorities decided to further operationalise the bypass during the current Sankranti festival.

Improved connectivity to national highways

One side of the connectivity works linking the Chennai–Kolkata National Highway to the West Bypass near Kaza has also been completed. This will enable vehicles coming from Chennai, Ongole and Guntur to enter the West Bypass at Kaza, reach Gollapudi and continue towards the Vijayawada–Hyderabad highway. Similarly, vehicles travelling towards Eluru can directly access the Eluru road via Chinna Avutapalli without any diversion at Gollapudi.

To further streamline traffic flow, vehicles from Eluru and Gollapudi are currently being allowed towards the Secretariat and High Court in Amaravati. After crossing the Krishna River bridge and the Seed Access Road, vehicles are being diverted near the toll plaza onto the Mangalagiri–Mandadam road, significantly reducing travel time. Officials said works on the second side of the bypass would be completed by the end of this month, enabling vehicles from the Gollapudi side to reach Hailand Road.