Vadodara: The Sussen Crossroads flyover may not see the light of the day if the row over it continues. The work is facing stiff opposition from the residents of the area following which the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) had put it on hold last month and is now reconsidering the project.
The flyover was cleared by VMC’s standing committee in May this year. The committee passed the flyover along the Vadsar-Tarsali alignment at the crossroads. The decision that was taken after three traffic surveys sparked a row.
The alignment of the flyover had been debated for long with a study of 13 traffic junctions in the city by Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) in 2013 which had concluded that the flyover should be along the Makarpura-Pratapnagar Road. The civic body later got a fresh traffic survey done for the flyover in April 2017 by another consultant. This report stated that the bridge should be constructed along he Vadsar-Tarsali alignment.
The residents of the area raised objections to this development and questioned the 2017 study by a private consultant. In wake of the situation, VMC ordered another survey by CRRI. This survey, contrary to the 2013 survey, suggested that the flyover should come along the Vadsar-Tarsali alignment.
VMC officials said that the junction has witnessed changes in traffic flow after a railway over-bridge was constructed at Soma Talav after 2013. This may have led to the subsequent studies suggesting a different alignment.
Sources said that even members of the political wing were divided on the project. Some believe that if the alignment was changed under public pressure, the flyover may not solve its purpose and traffic woes would remain. In wake of the stalemate continuing, the VMC is looking to postpone the project indefinitely indicating that the project may not take off now.
