In a knee-jerk reaction, the Public Works Department (PWD), responsible for the mammoth Rs 154 crore Ambedkar Flyover project, has said that a traffic signal will soon be erected at the Y junction where the route splits into two.
The announcement, which lends credence to a story first carried by The Pioneer, comes in the midst of growing criticism of the project, which many say is beset with inherent design flaws that threaten the safety of motorists using the road.
Speaking ahead of the opening of the flyover, experts involved in the project had told The Pioneer that the project’s infrastructure required a detailed traffic management plan to ensure that the city derived the maximum benefit from the expenditure.
They had said that the PWD had not yet addressed concerns regarding three major flaws, which motorists now say are causing confusion while driving on the flyover.
Drivers taking the elevated road say the flyover is too narrow for the lane changes they must make before the Y junction, which splits the road into two, with one arm leading to Shaurya Smarak and the other going towards Gayatri Mandir.
They say that the lane changes will become even more jarring with the installation of the proposed traffic signals at the junction.
Towards the Rani Kamlapati Station end of the flyover, motorists are having to drive several kilometres, all the way to the CSIR campus, before they can take a U-turn.
Last, but the deadliest of the flaws, is the proximity of the end of the flyover to the traffic intersection near Shaurya Smarak, where many motorists coming down the flyover have to navigate lane changes, avoid traffic coming from below the flyover, and take a left turn all at the same time.
The confusing traffic arrangement is already leading to melees and snarls, with a bottleneck of vehicles causing delays, which is proving contrary to the very purpose of the flyover.
Adding to the woes of motorists, the PWD now plans to increase waiting times at the traffic signal at the Shaurya Smarak intersection. A simple enough ploy, but the department is yet to speak of the distress of motorists who will be forced to wait on the sloping end of the flyover during rush hours.
Less than ten days into its opening, experts say that it is only a matter of time before the creation of massive negative space below the flyover, a maze of metro and flyover pillars, starts to take a toll on businesses in the commercial district of MP Nagar.
They say that even if the PWD does manage to overcome the teething troubles the flyover is facing at the moment, there is no way this much-delayed, mega project will keep up with the growing number of vehicles in the city, which are poised for massive growth in the near future.