Dozen flyovers to come up in Visakhapatnam

Visakhapatnam: Even as the alliance government is considering various ways to develop Visakhapatnam as a financial, IT and industrial hub, concrete steps are taken to iron out traffic woes to avoid any inconvenience caused to people in future.

Along with it, the focus is also on making Bhogapuram Green Field International Airport operational at the earliest. However, in order to reach the new airport, people need to travel about 50-km extra from the city. Keeping this in view, efforts are on to improve connectivity between the city and the new airport.

In a move to ease traffic congestion witnessed at various places across the district, an action plan was readied to help people reach their destinations without getting stuck in traffic for long.

The Andhra Pradesh government is gearing up to build Bhogapuram Green Field International Airport on one side, metro rail on the other and new flyovers to ease traffic woes.

Once the airport becomes operational, the number of commuters from the city will increase drastically. As there is no possibility of completing the metro rail project by the time the airport gets operational, the focus to develop road infrastructure and flyovers gain pace simultaneously.

A number of routes are being built to connect the city to the new airport. Also, a majority of people travel to Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam and Vizianagaram from Bhogapuram.

The district administration identified about 15 roads to be developed in North Andhra to meet growing transportation needs. Various modes are taken into consideration through which the road infrastructure would be facilitated, including public-private partnership mode. Apart from the 15 roads, new flyovers will also be readied at major junctions.

While some of the works will be taken up by the Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority (VMRDA), the others will be initiated by the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC).

Sharing details, district collector M N Harendhira Prasad said that the rising traffic issues were discussed in the review meeting led by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu during his previous visit. The point of discussions focused on resolving traffic problems in the city, construction of metro rail and flyovers for enhanced transportation needs. As part of it, 12 flyovers are proposed to be constructed in Visakhapatnam, the Collector informed. Of them, two are planned to be built in the vicinity of Lankelapalem.

Car Shed Junction, Yendada, Hanumantawaka, Maddilapalem, Satyam junction, Gurudwara junction, Akkaayyapalem, Thatichetlapalem, Old Gajuwaka, Ukkunagaram are some of the other areas identified to build flyovers.

Once the proposed flyovers get completed, traffic problems in Visakhapatnam will be a thing of the past.