Expansion of road overbridge proposed to ease traffic congestion in Guntur of Andhra Pradesh

The Guntur Municipal Corporation (GMC) and the Roads and Buildings (R&B) Department have proposed the expansion of the two-lane road overbridge (ROB) at Sankar Vilas Centre into four lanes with an estimated budget of ₹131 crore. The cost for land acquisition and shifting of the utilities will be borne by the GMC.

The local MLAs and MLCs of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) discussed the issue with Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy during his recent visit to Guntur.

Built in 1957, the ROB is no longer able to accommodate the burgeoning traffic. It is estimated that at least three lakh people cross the overbridge every day. It takes at least half an hour to cross it during the peak hours. 

The R&B Department had estimated that the project cost would be around ₹131 crore. The proposal was sent to the State government which forwarded the files to the Centre for support. The response of the Centre is awaited, R&B Department Deputy Engineer D. Rajendra Naidu told The Hindu.

Even after getting permissions from the Central and State governments, it would take at least six months to commence the construction of the ROB as a feasibility study need to be done first and then bids will be invited. Since the ROB is in good condition, it would not be demolished, he said.

There is a space constraint in the area for expansion of the ROB and it needs land acquisition. The officials are exploring alternatives in this regard. 

One such proposal is to construct a bridge over the existing ROB so that two-wheelers, three-wheelers and four-wheelers could be allowed through the existing structure and heavy vehicles such as buses could be diverted to the new structure. For this, the length of the bridge needs to be increased and the requirement for the land acquisition would be limited. 

There is an alternative proposal— construction of another two or four-lane bridge adjacent to the ROB. For this, the government has to acquire commercial land particularly the stretch between Arundalpet and Brodipet in the II-Town area, which will be expensive, the officials said.

However, government land is available in I-Town, the other side of the bridge and a small patch of private land needs to be acquired. The officials anticipate that acquiring commercial land in Arundalpet and Brodipet would involve many complications. The government need to to take a call on it, they say.  

The bridge divides the traffic between east and west sides of Guntur city. On the east side, there are a host of commercial establishments, major hospitals including the Government General Hospital (GGH), district Collectorate, District Police Office, office of the Guntur Municipal Corporation, District Courts, APSRTC bus station, fruit and vegetable markets. On the west side of the bridge, there are commercial areas such as Arundalpet, Brodipet, Lakshmipuram, Brindavan Gardens, Amaravati road and others.