NHAI will fix some shortcomings on and under Sadar flyover | Nagpur updates
Nagpur updates:-Although the Rs218 crore Y-shaped Sadar flyover has reduced the time taken by motorists to move from Samvidhan Square to Katol Road Square and Mankapur Square, NHAI has failed to address several shortcomings in the bridge that was opened to the public on January 10.
The traffic chaos at the Kamptee-Wardha Road landing point, between Samvidhan Square and LIC Square, is now evident to everyone. TOI motorized the flyover in a car with Sandeep Agrawal, a resident of Raj Nagar (Sadar) who pointed out the many safety measures needed on and under the flyover that the NHAI had overlooked.
From all three directions, we took the flyover and also flew under the flyover. Agrawal said the travel time for the flyover has been cut. “Earlier, driving speed was 30 km per hour, but almost doubled with the flyover. Today, in 4–5 minutes, we can hit the other end of the flyover, “he said.
We started from Katol Chowk at 10.30am and even before we climbed the flyover we saw several vehicles heading down the wrong side. Before the Katol Road side flyover intersects with the other wing of the flyover near Anjuman College, it was a smooth ride for more than a kilometer.
This point of intersection requires a path divider, as many cars have been seen heading down the wrong lane. In addition, dividers should also be mounted in all three directions at the flyover entrance and exit points — Katol Chowk, Mankapur and near Kasturchand Park.
Lack of lane discipline, especially at the curves, can cause accidents over the flyover. Agarwal suggested that NHAI should build dividers at such places to bifurcate vehicle up and down movement.
Bicycle riders, usually forbidden to use any sadar flyovers, have also been found using it. We also saw a bus making a U-turn after their driver noticed that he had gone into the wrong lane. Agarwal also noted that the Sadar flyover landing near Kasturchand Park is a permanent black spot.
Then, we made a U-turn from Samvidhan Square and headed toward Katol Road under the flyover. When we continued the situation escalated. A bottleneck was in the shelter of an NIT city bus. At this point, removing encroachments and illegally parked vehicles will ease congestion considering the narrowed lane.
“Beneath the flyover, close to the NIT bus stop, traffic police and NMC need to take action against unauthorized passenger vehicles and some vendor intrusions,” he said.
Vehicle parking at either side of the road should be overcome by allocating space between the pillars of the flyover. “Due to lack of sunlight, the planting drive between the pillars will not succeed anyway,” he pointed out. Better use of those patches is to solve the problem of parking along the road, he said.
The width of the divider is more on either side from Chhaoni Durga Mandir towards Katol Chowk. “I believe the footpath width at this stretch can be decreased to increase road width, which can provide smooth vehicle movement,” he said.
We also noticed a private school parking their staff vehicles using the footpath alongside the flyover near Raj Nagar. There is also a need to cut a huge tree in the middle of Sadar road alongside the flyover since it has reduced the width of the road and can cause mishaps.
CCTVs should also be installed at flyover intersection points which can be used to penalize wrong side drivers and rash drivers.
Suggestions ON SADAR flyover 24-hour survey by all the agencies concerned, NHAI, RTO, traffic police, NGOs such as Jan Aakrosh etc. Dividers nearly all along the flyover, particularly at entry / exit points, curves, parts where traffic merges and intersects Reduce speed, prevent U-turns, wrong-sided driving Some speed breakers, big signage and blink amber light at intersection point (Acharaj Square) Pr Widen 100-200 meters of road adjacent to all flyover points to avoid bottlenecks on state and national highways taken by heavy traffic, including ST busses Slow traffic or vehicle breakdown in narrow stretches will result in congestion where traffic flows, such as defence zones, cinemas, NIT office, Raj Nagar etc.
A PLAN OF ACTION Regular traffic police manning to stop untoward incidents In-depth recce to identify issues. Next, introduce remedial measures below the flyover.
Suspend traffic on flyover for a few days, if necessary, to complete civil works Inaugurate it again with the participation of Sadar shopkeepers, MOIL officers, heads of schools and colleges, RTO officers, driving class members, military personnel, MSRTC officials, private bus owners and others who would use it, to increase their project pride, ensure compliance.
