Beautification works delay underpass
The 450-meter-long underpass at Ayyappa Society Junction, Madhapur which was supposed to be operational by December 2017, will be inaugurated only in early 2018. While the civil works have been completed three months ahead of schedule, the beautification work is still to be done. This underpass has been built to ease the traffic woes of the IT corridor.
“As part of the beautification, both sides of the underpass will be tiled with mosaic. Civil work is completed, but due to this added component of beautification, there is a delay in opening the underpass for commuters”, said a GHMC official.
Mayor Bonthu Ram Mohan has directed the engineers to ensure that the underpass looks as attractive as the underpasses of New Delhi. “The underpass is expected to be operational in a month. Once the tender process is completed, the beautification works will be done very swiftly”, said the GHMC official.
The beautification of the underpass was not part of the initial tenders. But since this is the first underpass under Strategic Road Development Project (SRDP), the administration reportedly wants the underpass to have a great ambience. However, a GHMC official said, “If the beautification work is taken up after the inauguration, a part of the road will have to be blocked causing inconvenience to the public.” It may be mentioned here that as part of SRDP Package-4, underpasses and flyovers are being built at Biodiversity Junction, Mind Space Junction, Rajiv Gandhi Statue Junction apart from Ayyappa Society Junction.
At the Mindspace Junction, the underpass is expected to be completed by March 2018, while the flyover is anticipated to be operational by the end of June 2018. Meanwhile, land acquisition for the multilevel flyover at Biodiversity Junction is underway.