Bhubaneswar: For smooth movement of traffic on the busy Jayadev Vihar-Nandankanan Road of Bhubaneswar city, the new BJP government has planned to construct an elevated corridor similar to that of Nagpur on the road.
Speaking to media persons, Works Minister Prithviraj Harichandan today said a double-decker design has been planned, featuring a four-lane road for vehicular movement on the first level while the second level will be dedicated to the upcoming metro project.
The proposed elevated road will stretch from Jayadev Vihar Square to Nandankanan and will be integrated with the existing Jayadev Vihar flyover, he said.
The foundation stone for the mega project would be laid by the end of April, he said, adding, the DPR is being prepared and work will start soon.
Sources said the flyover will be constructed at a height of around 8 meters from the road, while the metro track will be positioned 14 meters above the ground. The plan is expected to help the government get rid of the time-consuming process of land acquisition that would otherwise be needed for road expansion on the stretch, sources said.
With an estimated cost of around Rs 2,700 crore, the corridor is expected to improve connectivity within the city. The State government has allocated around Rs 304 crore for the project this year. IIT Madras has also been roped in for a pilot study of traffic for the flyover project, the sources said.
Notably, the previous BJD government had planned to take up the phase-I metro project of the 26-km-long stretch between Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Bhubaneswar to Trisulia in Cuttack at an investment of Rs 6,225 crore.
With the conceptualisation of the elevated corridor project, the ongoing metro project work on the Jayadev Vihar Square to Nandankanan road has been put on halt. After completion of the DPR further action plan will be chalked out, they said.
Meanwhile, Housing and Urban Development Minister Krushna Chandra Mohapatra said the government has formed a high-level committee to study the route alignment planned for the metro project. The expert committee will study such projects in other States and give necessary recommendations to the government to make it a financially feasible one, he said.