CUTTACK: The Cuttack Development Authority (CDA) has started designing Millennium city's decongestion plan. While the designing of the plan will be completed within the next 8 months, its implementation has been scheduled to be completed in the subsequent two years.
The congestion plan has been the need of the hour as a majority of arterial roads in Cuttack city is facing acute traffic congestion due to an organic pattern of road network which acts as a bottleneck. The speed of a vehicle running along the major roads of Cuttack and in stretches is very slow leading to traffic congestion, increased fuel consumption, pollution and GHG emissions.
One of the major reasons for such severe congestion is friction between various road users and vehicles on narrow roads, mixed land use and traffic, poor geometrics of road network, mix of local and long-distance traffic, absence of a traffic management plan etc. within the city.
In addition, narrow roads due to old habitation also increase the magnitude of traffic congestion. Further, the city is dominated by on street parking and hawkers along the entire network, where local/collector streets merge into the major arterial roads creating huge bottlenecks for traffic movements.
The geometrics of the junctions are also poorly planned, which increases the conflict and is not conducive for smooth traffic movement. "To address these issues, we have selected AECOM India, a consultancy firm for preparation of the city decongestion plan through a transparent bidding process," said CDA chairman Anil Samal.
In the first phase, the firm has been assigned with designing of decongestion plan for 10 busy localities - High Court area including Balu Bazar and Nimchauri, CMC’s Biju Bhawan locality, Mangalabag area (Howrah Motors to Buxi Bazar, SCB Medical College and Hospital area), Badambadi junction and adjoining areas, Jobra to Nuabazar, Bajrakabati Road, College Square to Ranihat, Biju Patnaik Chhak to Sati Chaura, Chandini Chowk to Chandi Mandir in the city, Samal informed.