Telangana Govt appoints consultant to study burgeoning traffic on Hyderabad roads and recommend measures

Hyderabad faces traffic challenges due to rising vehicle numbers; government appoints international consultant for effective infrastructure solutions.

The ever-increasing number of vehicles on Hyderabad roads has apparently become a major cause of concern for the Telangana Government — which is struggling hard to put in place the necessary infrastructure to handle the steep rise in vehicles.

Roads are being strengthened from time to time with widening and identification of link roads to ease traffic congestion. But the existing infrastructure appears to be insufficient unless an effective plan is developed.

Industries and IT Minister D. Sridhar Babu cited the rampant growth of high rises around the arterial P.V. Narasimha Rao expressway connecting the city to the road leading to Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Shamshabad, with the owner of each apartment in possession of more than one car. “Roads are planned keeping in view a certain amount of traffic. But what if 20,000 cars ply during the peak time? Will the infrastructure be sufficient?” he asked.

The Government had therefore appointed a consultant of international repute to study the situation and recommend appropriate measures. The State Government has launched works, including three major elevated corridors connecting the national highways, worth over ₹16,000 crore that could ease traffic congestion on the busy roads.

In all, 26 works comprising flyovers, road over/under bridges, underpasses and others were sanctioned under the H-CITI (Hyderabad City Innovative and Transformative Infrastructure) with an estimated cost of ₹7,032 crore, along with 49 link roads under two packages with an estimated cost of ₹1,500 crore. This was in addition to the elevated corridors with an amount of ₹7,406 crore taken up by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) in the city limits. The Government had so far incurred an expenditure of ₹122 crore on the works, and it planned to spend ₹2,250 crore during the next financial year.