Huge boost for road infrastructure in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: To ensure commuters enjoy a smooth and incident-free ride on city roads, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) during this financial year 2022-23 has sanctioned 7,513 road-related works under its jurisdiction at a staggering cost of Rs 1,947.24 crore.

Out of the 7,513 sanctioned road-related works, so far the GHMC has managed to complete 2,219 works involving an expenditure of Rs 458.35 crore while the balance of 5,294 works, which will cost Rs 1,488.89 crore, are under various stages of completion.

The total length of roads maintained by the GHMC is 9,013 kilometres out of which 2,846 km are BT roads and 6,167 km are Cement Concrete (CC) roads.

Out of the total road length in GHMC limits, 811.96 km is the length of main roads (three lanes and above width), and to provide a better travel experience on such roads, the Telangana government accorded administrative sanction of Rs 1,839 crore for their maintenance and launched the Comprehensive Road Maintenance Programme (CRMP).

Under this programme, the CRMP agencies were given the responsibility of overall upkeep and maintenance of the entire main road stretches in traffic-worthy condition for five years. Out of the total 811.96 km main road network, over 690 km has already been re-carpeted by CRMP agencies. As per the contract, maintenance of the central medians, sanitation, greenery development, kerb painting on main roads is also the responsibility of the CRMP agencies, senior GHMC officials said.

Meanwhile, to avoid rainwater stagnation and to ensure the longevity of the roads that get frequently waterlogged during downpours, the GHMC has decided to lay Vacuum Dewatered Cement Concrete (VDCC) roads instead of regular bitumen roads. The GHMC proposed 146 km of Vacuum Dewatered Cement Concrete (VDCC) with an outlay of Rs 158.67 crore this financial year and works are presently underway in various locations. These roads are being laid in colonies and stretches where traffic is relatively less when compared to major thoroughfares.