With President Ram Nath Kovind laying foundation stone for building two ‘smart roads’ in the State capital, the city has made itself into the elite group of urban habitats of the country.
Some of the features planned to be brought on ground for the two major arteries of the city would also reflect on smart commuting from some of the developed countries.
It is learnt that the smart roads, originating at Birsa Munda Airport and going up to Birsa Chowk along with the second one from Birsa Chowk to Raj Bhawan, two kilometers and seven kilometers in length, respectively, are going to have green corridors, encroachment free footpaths and ample parking facilities for the motorists.
“Smart road means where commuters do not have any difficulty in travelling. Often we see footpaths getting encroachment upon which would not be case here. Also, separate tracks for cyclists and trees on both the sides would be there all along the roads. No vehicle can be parked alongside the road. This apart, safety features like intelligent traffic signals, indicators, lane making etc would be in place,” said Urban Development and Housing Minister CP Singh.
Renowned consultancy firm Mecon has already prepared the detailed project report for the twin roads for the Department that has warded the construction work as well. Provision for developing the existing airport road and Harmu Road into the Smart Roads would cost Rs 89.83 crore and Rs 464.90 crore, respectively.
“The stretch is lifeline for the capital city and is also a VVIP route. The idea is to develop it as per international standards keeping in mind future needs of Ranchi. For that we required sufficient land for widening and bringing in other standard facilities. That is the reason why the estimated project cost is relatively on the higher side,” said an official of the Urban Development Department.
Agency working as an arm of the Department, JUIDCO (Jharkhand Urban Infrastructure Development Company limited), is building the roads. “The Smart Roads coming up, besides having other features as per standards, would have separate ducts for water pipelines, power transmission lines, phone, cable and many more like that. Sewer and drainage systems would be in place so that the commuters do not face difficulty of any kind while driving.
Hi-tech traffic management system would also be in place,” said Dharmdeo Mishra, Project Director (Administration) with JUIDCO.