Road infrastructure in Telangana: Created to dazzle

On Telangana Formation Day 2023, road development has remained one of the key projects that has trumped all other projects in the city in terms of vision, fund allocation and execution.

Road development is the one key project that has trumped all other projects in the city in terms of vision, fund allocation and execution during the last 10 years since creation of Telangana as a separate state in 2014.

Majorly implemented by GHMC, the Strategic Road Development Plan (SRDP) encapsulated a wide array of cost intensive projects, including construction of flyovers, underpasses, roads over bridges, and roads under bridges, among others.

Conceptualised with the initiative of Minister for Municipal Administration & Urban Development K.T. Rama Rao, the mega infrastructural project is aimed for signal free traffic flow from end to end, with the stated objectives of minimising the travel time, reducing traffic jams, and bringing down air pollution levels.

While achievement of desired goals always remains debatable, GHMC certainly deserves a pat on the back for the speed and gusto with which several components of SRDP were finished.

“I happened to visit the western part of Hyderabad recently after a gap of several years, and could not believe my eyes. Everything has changed so much, and there is so much development on the infrastructural front. I forgot for some time that I was in India,” effused A. Radhika, a non-resident Indian from California.

As per a statement shared by GHMC on its 10-year achievements, a total of 32 SRDP components have been completed by the civic body with an expenditure of ₹2,776 crore. Three works costing ₹472 crore have been completed by other departments such as HRDCL and HMDA.

Prominent structures created under the project include the cable stayed bridge on Durgam Cheruvu, seven flyovers and three vehicular underpasses in LB Nagar zone, six flyovers and two underpasses in Serilingampally, and a steel bridge to ease traffic flow near Punjagutta graveyard, besides several others.