VISAKHAPATNAM : To provide hassle-free road connectivity to the Green Field International Airport at Bhogapuram, the State Government is planning an express highway between Bheemili and Bhogapuram, connecting the existing Bheemili-Visakhapatnam four-lane corridor.
The Central government sanctioned the Green Field International Airport at Bhogapuram in Viziangaram district, 65 km from Visakhapatnam.
The existing national highway between the two end points (Maddilapalem in Visakhapatnam and Bhogapuram) via Madhurawada, Anandapuram, Tagarapuvalasa and Rajapulova has dense traffic with heavy vehicles using the route.
According to the study reports, once the Green Field International Airport is constructed, the road traffic will be doubled within no time and the air passengers will face severe traffic problems in reaching the airport.
Noticing the need to provide an alternative road connectivity, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu directed the officials concerned to prepare plans to lay 120-ft-wide road north of Bheemili.
The officials said that the plan was to connect the existing Visakhapatnam-Bheemili Beach Road, one of the attractions on the beachfront, with the Bhogapuram airport to Visakhapatnam city.
“The Chief Minister directed the officials to prepare plans for the road network from north of Bheemili on the beachfront. The engineer-in-chief of Roads and Buildings and other officials are arriving here to discuss the work. A meeting will be convened on the issue,” said district collector N Yuvaraj.
There are about 18 busiest points on NH-16 between Bhogapuram and Visakhapatnam (Maddilapalem). At peak time it takes over two hours to travel by road and the vehicle traffic is expected to double by 2020, and is therefore guaranteed to make travel for air passengers a difficult task.
According to the government plans, the proposed Green Field International Airport is expected to be completed by 2018 and flight traffic, both domestic and international, is also expected to double in a few years.
“There will be need to provide hassle-free road connectivity to the air passengers. An alternative road connectivity on the beachfront will be beautiful if the new road is laid between Bhogapuram and Bheemili. The same will be connected to the existing Visakhapatnam-Bheemili Beach Road. Once the road connectivity is improved on the beachfront, the travelling time will be reduced to an hour and the traffic will be seamless. It is also possible to extend the present two-lane beach road to four lanes in future,” the senior official said.
The passengers can easily approach the Visakhapatnam-Bheemili Beach Road from Coastal Battery Junction, RK Beach, YMCA, Park Hotel, Old Appu Ghar, Kailasagiri Junction and Visalakshinagar.
The passengers coming from Bhogapuram also can enter the city from the above mentioned junctions, the official explained.