Kapurbawdi flyover inaugurated, commuters jubilant

November 20, 2013

Manoj Badgeri, TNN |

THANE: Commuters using the newly-inaugurated arm of the Kapurbawdi flyover expressed their delight after travelling on it. The journey that used to initially take almost 30 minutes, now gets done within a minutes.”I live in Waghbil and earlier it used to take me a lot of time travelling from Majiwada till my place. It was a great experience plying on this stretch,” said Jayesh Mane, a motorist.

However, there were some motorists who continued to use the road below as they were unaware that the flyover was finally open to the public. This resulted in a major jam on Tuesday evening.

”We didn’t know that the flyover was open for commuters. It was only after we reached the end of the road that we noticed vehicles zipping down from the flyover. We will have to wait till tomorrow to experience driving on the flyover,” said a couple who were driving to their home at Manpada.

Lack of boards informing motorists about the opening of the flyover may be one of the reason why many took the road beneath. ”Several vehicles were still using the roads underneath the flyover, leading to traffic jam. We have asked the MSRDC to install boards informing motorists that the flyover has been thrown open for traffic,” said a traffic cop manning the junction.

Even though residents were excited about the opening of one arm, they are still awaiting the completion of the entire flyover. ”Once the work on the entire flyover is completed it will be a smooth ride for motorists. Since Monday, there has been less traffic snarls on this stretch. We hope the entire flyover is open soon,” said Ramakant Rane, who lives at Majiwada junction.

Earlier the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) had stated that the entire flyover will be completed by March 2014. But now sources within the organization have claimed that it could take longer as work on the Ghodbunder Road-Mumbai arm may take more time as the officials are still awaiting an approval from the National Highways Authority of Indian (NHAI) for the construction on the Nashik highway.

Though, commuting agony may have eased by 40% at Majiwada now after opening up of one arm of the Kapurbawdi flyover, complete relief for Thane motorists is most likely to be a distant dream. Despite tall claims by the MSRDC to complete the entire flyover network by March 2014, sources within the organization inform that a vital stretch on the GB road-Mumbai arm will possibly delay the project as key approval from the NHAI for construction on the Nashik highway is still expected.

The implementing agency is in the line of fire of both the residents and elected representatives for the inordinate delay in completing the Rs 197 crore worth flyover network. The agency has missed several deadlines in the past with the latest being in June this year and every time it has cited some excuse or blamed other agencies for the delay. Though the Mumbai-Ghodbunder arm is ready, snarls may continue underneath the flyover for motorists, said traffic officials. “A notable volume of traffic at the junction and heading towards Ghodbunder comes from Mumbai and now that the arm is open for traffic, Mumbai-Ghodbunder-Ahmedabad bound vehicles wont use the junction beneath. We will now be in a better position to divert traffic coming from the city and Nashik towards Ghodbunder,” says a traffic official.

Experts said that the junction will be free of congestions only after the complete flyover is thrown open. Even chief minister Prithviraj Chavan who is known to have an acumen for engineering projects, on Monday during the inauguration, expressed his desire that all the arms of the network were to be completed together.

The bone of contention is the GB road-Mumbai arm that entails a loop design over the Nashik highway and an approval from the NHAI for the same. Activist Chandrahas Tawade who filed a query under the RTI rubbishes the possibility of MSRDC meeting the new deadline and alleges that it hasn’t secured any approval from the NHAI required for erecting pillars on the highway. “They are yet to get approvals for the same and this might easily delay the project,” he laments. Sameer Shah, a motorist on the stretch expressed his angst at the slow pace of the work. “This project will be remembered in the history of Thane for its innumerable deadlines and delays.”

An MSRDC official said official requesting anonymity on Monday confirmed that the agency is yet to get an approval from the NHAI but said they were confident of getting the same in the coming days.

Source-http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Edappally flyover: On your mark …

October 11, 2013

TNN |

KOCHI: The public works department (PWD) has begun the land levelling work near the Edappally bridge as part of the preparatory works for the construction of Edappally flyover. The three-month preparatory work will also include the construction of two service roads and new bridges on either side of the existing Edappally canal bridge.

According to P A Hashim, the nodal officer for flyover projects, the piling for the flyover will begin after the completion of preparatory works. “We plan to re-route traffic through the service roads and new bridges to facilitate the construction of the flyover on the national highway,” he said. The service roads on either side of the bridge over Edappally canal on the national highway will have a width of 7.5 meters. They will be 25 meters long.

The state government and the Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) have inked the Rs 108-crore Edappally flyover project with the PWD. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) will execute the project, Hashim said. While KMRL will contribute Rs 30 crore, the Kerala Road Board Fund will provide Rs 50 crore and state government the remaining amount. The flyover project is expected to be completed in 18 months.

For the entire project, 175 cents of land will have to be acquired. Metro officials said that the land has not been handed over. “The urgency clause has been evoked and 4 (1) notification has been published to facilitate land acquisition. The construction work will gain momentum after the same,” said a Metro official. According to sources, DMRC’s contractor Larsen and Toubro (L&T), which has been awarded the contract for Metro viaduct between Aluva and Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, has been awarded construction works of Edappally flyover as well as preparatory works.

The PWD department has begun land levelling works at near Edappally bridge as part of preparatory works to be undertaken for construction of the Edappally flyover. The road authority expects to complete the construction of two service roads and new bridges on either side of the existing bridge within three months.

P A Hashim nodal officer for flyovers in Kochi said that piling works for constructing Edappaly flyover would begin after completing preparatory works. “The plan is to reroute traffic through the service roads and new bridges to facilitate construction works of flyover on the national highway,” he said. The service roads on either side of the national highway will have a width of 7.5 meters. The new bridges that will come up on both sides of existing bridge will have a length of 25 meters and will be 7.5 meter wide.

The state government and Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) inked the Rs 108-crore Edappally flyover project with the public works department (PWD). The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) will implement the work. “The preparatory works are also part of the project,” added Hashim. KMRL contributes Rs 30 crore, the Kerala Road Board Fund provides Rs 50 crore and the state government will chip in the remaining amount. The flyover project is expected to be completed in 18 months.

The entire project requires acquisition of 175 cents of land. Meanwhile, officials with Kochi Metro said they are yet to be handed over the land. “The urgency clause has been evoked and 4 (1) notification has been published to facilitate acquisition. The construction activities will be in full-swing when the land acquisition is completed,” said a metro official.

It is also stated that DMRC’s contractor Larsen and Toubro (L&T) which has been awarded the contract for constructing Kochi metro’s viaduct between Aluva and Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium has been awarded construction of Edappally flyover as well as its preparatory works.

3 more flyovers planned for Ghodbunder Road

October 9, 2013

TNN |

MUMBAI: The state government will build three more flyovers on the Thane-Ghodbunder Road, said deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar.Ajit, who had called a meeting at Mantralaya on Tuesday to discuss issues of Thane, said that he would follow-up with chief minister Prithviraj Chavan to urge the MMRDA to build the flyovers.

Excise minister Ganesh Naik proposed that these flyovers be constructed at Anand Nagar, Kasarvadavali and Ovala junctions. He also proposed 10 footover bridges so that pedestrians can safely cross roads without obstructing traffic. Thane municipal commissioner Aseem Gupta said that the civic body would construct four of the footover bridges—one each at Tatvagyan Vidyapeeth, R-Mall, Brahmand junction and Kasarvadavali—while Pawar said the MSRDC would construct the remaining six on Ghodbunder Road.

Ajit also announced the setting up of an Islamic cultural centre at Mumbra.

More flyovers to be stent in Ahmedabad arteries

September 24, 2013

Himanshu Kaushik & Shakil Pathan, TNN

 

AHMEDABAD: The standing committee of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has approved the proposal for a flyover connecting Vijay Crossroads and Drive-in. This flyover, 2.5-km-long, will be the longest in the city. Further, it will be built over existing flyovers over 132 Feet Ring Road and at Helmet Crossroads.

AMC officials said the standing committee has approved four new flyovers, work on which will be started only when the detail project report (DPR) gets approval of JNNURM officials.

The civic body officials said that survey by Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), New Delhi, had revealed that traffic coming into the city from Gurukul was much heavier than the traffic along the 132 Feet Ring Road. Hence, a flyover over the existing one over the 132 Feet Ring Road was felt necessary. Similarly, the survey had revealed that there were frequent traffic jams at Shyamal Crossroads and Jivraj Mehta Crossroads. Hence, a new flyover was needed at Helmet Crossroads while the existing one would be extended.

The other two flyovers will be built at Hatkeshwar junction in Khokhra and Dinesh Chambers junction in Bapunagar area.

According to municipal commissioner Guruprasad Mohapatra, the estimated cost of the project had been kept on the higher side, in view of the rise in the cost of construction material over the time it took to complete a flyover.

The AMC officials said that on the basis of a survey of 34 junctions carried out by the CRRI, it has been decided in principle that the construction of flyovers and underpasses will be taken up in a phased manner. The city currently has around 30 lakh vehicles and another two lakh are added every year, the officials said.

“The existing flyover at Jivraj railway crossing will be extended on both sides. The bridge toward Shyamal Crossroads will be extended to Shyamal Crossroads while the one towards Jivraj Crossroads will also be extended to cover Jivraj Crossroads,” said an official.

Source-http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

HC orders status quo on Butibori flyover

September 20, 2013

TNN |

NAGPUR: Nagpur bench of Bombay high court, on Thursday, ordered a status quo on National Highway Authority of India’s (NHAI) decision to construct a flyover at Butibori T junction. A division bench comprising Justices Bhushan Gavai and ZA Haq also issued notices to the respondents asking them to file a reply within three weeks, after which the case would be taken for disposal. NHAI general manager, regional manager and project director in Nagpur, MIDC executive engineer and Oriental Nagpur Bypass Limited at Dongargaon were made respondents in the case. Srikant Khandalkar was counsel or the petitioner Umesh Chaube, a social worker.

 

According to Khandalkar, NHAI through its communication of May 29 had granted permission for the construction of flyover at Butibori T junction on National Highway No 7 going to Hyderabad that will connect internal MIDC road. He also blamed the union minister for social justice and empowerment for writing a letter for constructing the flyover at MIDC junction without going into the factual aspect. He contended that there is no need for flyover and traffic congestion can be solved through extending the existing road to 60 metres.

 

Source-http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com 

 

Japanese model out; ministry for flyover at Hero Honda Chowk

September 20, 2013

Sanjeev K Ahuja, Hindustan Times  Gurgaon,

Commuters suffering regular travel pangs at the congested Hero Honda Chowk on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway for the want of a crossover facility can now heave a sigh of relief as the Union road transport and highways ministry has finally decided to get an elevated 6-lane flyover constructed on the main carriageway.

The decision was taken at a high-level meeting between Union minister Oscar Fernandes and Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda at Transport Bhawan in New Delhi on Wednesday.

Hooda had come to New Delhi to meet Fernandes and discuss on how to resolve the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway imbroglio.

“Since the matter is in court, we will plead for an early solution. The public is suffering due to the delay in resolving the issues,” Fernandes said after the meeting.

On the issue of decongesting Hero Honda Chowk, Fernandes said that the road ministry had decided to build a flyover over the existing carriageway. “It will help in decongesting the stretch as the cross-traffic will now move under the flyover,” he said.

Fernandes said that the flyover would cost approximately `100 crore and take 18 months to be completed. “It is going to be a permanent solution that will go a long way in easing the traffic flow on this stretch of National Highway-8,” he said.

Elaborating on why the ministry decided on making the flyover on the main carriageway and not across the chowk, ministry officials said that as land acquisition was an issue here and the cost otherwise could have escalated very much, they decided on this type of flyover.

The vehicles coming from both the directions would cross the highway under the flyover, it was learnt.

Regarding the high-rise mall model with elevated stretches of road passing through it – like in Osaka, Japan – the officials said that had been kept aside for the time being.

(Inputs from Moushumi Das Gupta)

 

Source-http://www.hindustantimes.com/

‘Zirakpur flyovers to be repaired after monsoon’

August 12, 2013

RAGHAV OHRI : Chandigarh,

Admitting that there are defects on flyovers constructed at Zirakpur and along the entire stretch, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) said it will undertake repair work after the monsoon season.

This was submitted by the NHAI, earlier this week, during the resumed hearing of a contempt petition against Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh for not implementing traffic guidelines issued by the High Court in 1998.

As the case came up for hearing, Advocate Vikram Sharda, counsel for the petitioner submitted that “the flyovers constructed at Zirarkpur and along the entire stretch of the national highway are defective as expansion joints and approach slabs cause vehicles to jump”.

On the other hand, counsel for the NHAI admitted “these defects and stated that necessary repair work would be commenced in the Ambala to Zirakpur stretch or NH-22 after the monsoon”.

With respect to the flyovers on NH-1, the NHAI has been directed to file an affidavit as to what steps it proposes to take regarding these defects.

“The covers of the drains abutting NH-21 and NH-1 are broken and in a state of despair. The NHAI is directed to ensure that the drains are cleaned and repaired,” held Justice Rajive Bhalla.

 

Source-http://www.indianexpress.com/

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