The traffic chaos in Vijayawada city doesn’t seem to be going away any time soon as the giant Kanaka Durga Flyover is yet to be completed. The city being a gateway to the capital Amaravati is known to receive a huge influx of devotees who come to the Kanaka Durga Temple. It thereby sees huge traffic, both intra-city and inter-city, from service autos to heavy tourist vehicles.
The giant flyover starts at Kummaripalem and ends at the Rajiv Gandhi Municipal Park. It passes over Temple road and Canal road besides the Prakasam barrage.
With the flyover being 2.3 km long, it will come as a major relief for residents in the city once it materialises.
However, the flyover construction has missed several deadlines in the past.
When TNM visited some places along the route, motorists demanded speedy completion of the flyover. Sk Nakeem, an auto driver, who regularly ferries passengers on the route said, "In normal hours it is not that messy, but during peak hours, vehicles get stuck near the temple curve."
Vehicles like autos and four wheelers are now being allowed to pass through the route, earlier officials had blocked the route in view of the construction work.
The adjacent Market road, which sees huge crowds during peak hours, is also swelling up with massive vehicular traffic as the nearby routes are all choked.
Several bikers near Bhavanipuram told TNM that traffic slowdown during peak hours has become a big concern. A few are of the opinion that the flyover would become available for people only after regime change at the Centre.
Earlier, CM Chandrababu Naidu had set March 2018 as the deadline for completion of the project. According to recent reports, Vijayawada MP Kesineni Nani has said that the flyover would be inaugurated in the coming two months.
TNM's multiple efforts to reach out to MP Kesineni over the phone to get a status update on the project went in vain.
The foundation stone for the project was laid by Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari in 2015 at an estimated cost of Rs 447 crore.