Metro, Flyovers Remain Distant Dream for Vizag Residents
Talking to this correspondent on Monday, the general manager said it would take at least four to five years to complete the Visakhapatnam Metro Rail from the date of the stone-laying.
Visakhapatnam: What was to be urgent, the metro rail and flyovers, seem to have become distant projects for Visakhapatnam. Both the projects were initiated separately in 2014 and 2015 to ease the ever-growing traffic and keep in view the big investments in the IT sector and infra proposed in the city. But to date there has been no word about the projects.
In January this year, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu approved a double-decker metro rail system for Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada. The double-decker along National Highway 16 will have a four-lane flyover on the lower deck and the metro viaduct on the upper deck. The central government in February this year gave in-principle approval to the revised Visakhapatnam Metro project.
“A RITES has been entrusted to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) of the double-decker project, and after receiving the report, the work will be initiated,” said K.S.V.S. Kameswara Rao, general manager of Andhra Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation Limited.
Talking to this correspondent on Monday, the general manager said it would take at least four to five years to complete the Visakhapatnam Metro Rail from the date of the stone-laying.
The city has a population of 2.3 million, and around eight lakh vehicles ply the roads every day, with 20,000 new vehicles added every year.
The broader double-decker metro proposal covers about 76.7 km, with the first phase including the Madhurawada–Thatichetlapalem and Gajuwaka–Steel Plant corridors.
The commuters wanted the project grounded early due to the multiple projects that have been announced by the government, which would take off early.
"The Alluri Seetharama Raju International Airport (Bhogapuram) is likely to launch its operations early next month, and since it is located 50 km away from the city, commuters need hassle-free traffic, which is possible with a double-decker metro system," said Mahesh Guruguballi, an architect from London.
Narrow carriageways, mixed traffic, and numerous intersections further slow down the vehicle movement, said another commuter.
A GVMC official said that though a six-lane NH 16 bypass was built from the Pendurthi to Anandapuram junction, the existing NH in the middle of the city takes the maximum load of traffic.