Hyderabad: 'Gachibowli flyover will ease traffic woes for next 20 years'

HYDERABAD: Once inaugurated on December 10, the Gachibowli-Shilpa Layout Flyover is expected to put to ease the traffic woes for commuters in the area for the next 20 years. At least so it appears from a recent traffic study conducted by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).
According to the data, peak hour traffic at Gachibowli junction currently stands at 9,806 PCU(passenger car unit)/per hour. By 2036, the same junction is estimated to face a traffic of 17,711 PCU/hour. Similarly, in Shilpa Layout Road, the peak hour traffic that was about 1,464 PCU/hour in 2020 is expected to shoot to 5,194 PCU/hour by 2040.

"Heading towards Mindspace from UoH is a nightmare for me during peak hours, as it takes 15 to 20 minutes just to cross the signal and reach Rolling Hills. The biodiversity flyover can only do so much for traffic coming in from Shaikpet but the vehicles coming under the bridge have worsened several times more due to the rapid increase in residential apartments in the region," said P Vamsi Krishna, an undergraduate at UoH.
Officials assure that this four-lane bidirectional flyover - considered to be an engineering marvel among projects under the Strategic Road Development Plan (SRDP) - will resolve such concerns. The 435 crore-worth flyover will split into two two-lane independent flyovers over the existing biodiversity flyover towards ORR.
"Works on phase-1 of the project began in March 2020 and was supposed to be completed by 2021. But owing to Covid-19, there were various delays," a senior official from the engineering wing of GHMC told TOI. He added: "The traffic analysis was done so that the new flyovers are designed in such a way that they can cater to traffic needs of the city for another 20 years. Certainly, there will be an immediate relief in the Gachibowli junction."
Commuters who rue how the construction activity compounded their traffic woes, especially near Skycity building, hope that the project will live up to its expectations. "By 6 pm the traffic from the biodiversity flyover and the ones under it comes to a standstill. Hope the work gets done soon and commuters are relieved from heavy traffic," said Narayana Guruswamy, a local civic activist.