Four road stretches all set to get makeover

VIJAYAWADA  Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) is planning to materialise the Corridor Improvement Project under its ambit by improving the necessary infrastructure. This is the first time that a civic body in the State will take up such a project. If everything goes as per the plan, a consultancy will be engaged for developing walking tracks, bicycle lanes, footpaths and greenery on Mahatma Gandhi Road, Eluru Road, BRTS Road and Samba Murthy Road in the city.

Over the years, the city has seen a significant rise in the number of vehicles plying on roads, but the existing road infrastructure is proving inefficient, especially in the peak hours, due to frequent traffic congestions. Taking a serious note of the issue, the civic body has developed 19 alternate roads within the city to ease the traffic. Apart from that, the civic body with the support of police and other departments has taken a slew of measures in diverting the traffic from MG Road and Eluru Road to the alternate roads, Corporation officials said.

The taxpayers’ association, which has been demanding improvement of road infrastructure, has welcomed the municipal corporation’s plan to implement the Corridor Improvement Project on four major stretches. “For a city like Vijayawada, there is an urgent need to restore the existing footpaths, which have been encroached upon by commercial establishments,” said association secretary MV Anjaneyulu and urged the civic body to execute the project on its own rather than entrusting the task to a consultancy firm.

"Recently, two consultancies have briefed us on how they plan to materialise the project on four stretches in the city," Municipal Commissioner V Prasanna Venkatesh told TNIE. Elaborating, he said the firms had been asked to conduct a ground-level study considering the geographical conditions before finalising their designs. In the next phase, tenders will be invited and the firm to be entrusted with the works has to finish it in nine months, the VMC chief informed.

Stretches identified under the corridor improvement plan
Mahatma Gandhi Road
Eluru Road
BRTS Road
Samba Murthy Road