BHUBANESWAR: In a bid to ease mounting traffic pressure on one of the city’s busiest corridors, the Works Department has initiated a move to develop the Jayadev Vihar-Nandankanan road on the lines of Chandigarh’s road planning model.
Informing about the initiative, minister for Works Prithiviraj Harichandan on Wednesday said he recently visited Chandigarh and studied its traffic management system, where arterial roads remain largely congestion-free due to their integration with a well-planned ring road network. Drawing from that model, the Jayadev Vihar-Nandankanan stretch will be redesigned with a central high-capacity carriageway for through traffic and dedicated service roads on either side for local commuters.
The corridor, connecting the Jayadev Vihar square to the Nandankanan area, carries heavy daily traffic, including office commuters, institutional traffic and vehicles headed towards the northern outskirts of the city. Rapid urban expansion along the route, coupled with commercial growth and residential development, has led to frequent congestions, particularly during peak hours.
Under the proposed plan, long-distance and fast-moving vehicles will use the main carriageway, while local traffic, access to markets and other establishments will be routed through service lanes. Officials say this segregation of traffic streams will significantly reduce intersection conflicts and improve travel time.
Harichandan said the tender process for the project is expected to be completed by February 25 which would put the plan on fast-track. The minister’s announcement of adopting the Chandigarh road model came shortly after the foundation stone laying of an elevated corridor project from Jayadev Vihar to Nandankanan.
Last month, CM Mohan Charan Majhi laid the foundation for the `952-crore project to be developed by the OBCC Ltd. The department has already planned to construct 5.5 metre wide service lanes on both sides of the main road having length of around 17.5 km. It will also have 7.5 metre wide slip roads with an approximate length of 9 km.