Hyderabad to get another elevated expressway

The chief minister approved a proposal by the R&B department for the construction of a 20-km four-lane elevated expressway from Parade Grounds to Shamirpet on Rajiv Rahadari on a BOT basis at a cost of Rs 1,085 crore. The decision was taken as widening of roads would be difficult in this area due to the presence of defence land. He also approved the proposal for fourlane widening of Rajiv Rahadari up to Karimnagar.If and when the expressway does become a reality, it will cut short the present more than an hour drive from Parade Grounds to Shamirpet. The reason: the stretch has many points of congestion enroute. Starting from the Apollo Hospital to Karkhana and Tirmulgherry junction and again at Lal Bazar and Lothkunta, there are traffic jams often, points out a regular user of the road. On the Karkhana stretch there is a temple and huge tree right on the road, often leading to congestion. Further, trucks and long trailers coming from NH-7 that enter the Military Farms road and join the Rajiv Rahadari at Lal Bazar and move towards Tirmulgherry junction and onward via the Cantonment create jams all through the day. “Whenever the expressway is constructed it will be a boon to residents of areas around the Shamirpet area as they candrive without any hassles,” says a resident.Also, people working and visitors to the biotech hub consisting of the ICICI Knowledge Park and Shapoorji Pallonji Biotech Park and other emerging institutions like BITS would benefit immensely. In fact, development of that area could speed up further, says an analyst.