Tarnaka Junction To Reopen Today On Trial Basis
The traffic police urged people to take note of changes and co-operate with them during the trial period
Hyderabad: The Tarnaka junction, which had remained closed for over a decade citing traffic congestion, is all set to reopened on Friday on a trial for 15 days. The trial will continue till May 2, and based on its success, a decision will be taken on whether the junction will remain permanently open.
In an official advisory issued on Thursday, Joel Davis, Hyderabad traffic police joint commissioner of police, said vehicles would be allowed to pass through the Tarnaka junction under the flyover in two directions — from Osmania University towards Lalapet and the vice versa.
Vehicles coming from Mettuguda will not be allowed to take a right turn towards Osmania University. They will have to proceed straight, take a U-turn at the Huda Complex at Tarnaka, and then take a left at the junction to reach Osmania University.
Vehicles coming from Habsiguda will not be allowed to take a right turn towards Lalapet and are required to continue straight till Iriset, take a U-turn, and then turn left at Tarnaka junction towards Lalapet.
Nallakunta traffic inspector M. Satyanarayana said, “We will see if it works. If the traffic flow is manageable, the junction will remain open. Otherwise, we may have to consider closing it again. There was a detailed study of the traffic patterns in the junction, and we are running the trial based on the findings.”
The findings revealed that during morning peak hours, vehicular movement was significantly dense from Keesara, ECIL, and Lalapet towards Tarnaka, as well as from LB Nagar, Habsiguda, and Uppal, heading towards Secunderabad, and the northern part of the city. In the evening hours, traffic congestion builds from Secunderabad heading towards Uppal through Tarnaka, and from Amberpet, Nallakunta and VST towards ECIL.
The trial will observe if vehicles can clear the junction within two signal cycles. “If it takes longer, we may conclude that the junction cannot sustain such density and consider reverting to the previous closure,” the Inspector said.
Meanwhile, to ease the congestion in front of the Railway College affecting the U-turn, the traffic police have deployed two traffic constables, as well as at the left turn towards Sitaphalmandi. This step is aimed at preventing backlog up to the Goodlands Restaurant stretch. Vehicles coming from Sitaphalmandi get on to the Inner Ring Road and head towards Lalapet or Habsiguda, the commuters preferring to take the wrong side and head towards the U-turn instead of taking left and taking the upcoming U-turn.
The decision to reopen the junction, however, has seen mixed reactions. “It was a poor decision to keep the junction closed for so many years,” said M. Prasad, a civil engineer residing in Tarnaka. “It caused unnecessary detours and added to fuel expenses. The area’s traffic could have been better managed rather than closing such a crucial link.”
Police officials, however, highlighted that the number of vehicle users and owners had increased since 2015, and managing the current traffic density was much more challenging.
Vikram Kumar, a private employee from Vijayapuri Colony, said, “I got used to taking the U-turn. Even if they’ve opened the junction, and if there’s a red signal for a right turn, I might still just go ahead and use the U-turn to save time. Who stands in the scorching sun while the sweat keeps pouring down my body?”
