Noida Vital Plans For Smooth Commuting

Noida authority has declared Noida `Signal-free city' in a bid to reduce the over-loaded traffic system and improve the quality of life of the residents. TEAM TIMES PROPERTY writes

The Noida authority has a number of projects lined up for the city like under passes, FOBs (foot over bridges), multilevel parking, major road linkages, and elevated roads on all main roads, that expects signal-free travel for visitors as it will reduce the traffic problem and make commuting easy and convenient for residents and visitors.

This initiative will have a positive impact on the real estate builders, as it will gear them up with their real estate developments.

A survey shows that traffic congestion during peak hours in the last few years has increased manyfold making life of commuters very troublesome on jammed roads. The Noida authority has already constructed a number of underpasses and flyovers that will reduce the hassle of waiting at traffic signal and to ease traffic movement, making the city traffic-free.

But this is not enough for the ever increasing traffic woes and the authority has approved Rs 45.42 crore for the construction of a new underpass at the busy intersection of Sector 25A24 and Sector 2433A on the Master Plan (MP) 2 Road.

The proposed underpass is expected to ensure signal-free ride for nearly 40,000 daily commuters who face heavy traffic and wait for long at traffic signal.

Keeping in mind the traffic load, the authority also has plans to construct a 5.5km-long elevated road on MP2 Road (Vishwa Bharti School to Shopprix Mall) at a cost of Rs 500 crore, to ensure a signal free traffic. Aside from this, a number of underpasses have been planned on Master Plan 3 Road (Golf Course to NH-24).

According to a work plan prepared by the planning and engineering department of Noida authority, three half flyovers like the one on T-points of Sectors 54, 60, and 61 and another on Sectors 61, 53, and 54 towards MP 2 Road and a third towards the Sector 15A are to be constructed soon.

The Noida authority has recently approved the construction of a 5.8km-long elevated road parallel to the Shahdara drain. The estimated cost of the project, which starts from Sectors 14 and 14A and on to Sectors 95 and Kalindi Kunj, the four-lane stretch will be built at a cost of Rs 525 crore. This will provide an alternative route between Kalindi Kunj and Noida, to avoid the busy junctions of Noida, thus making a trouble-free and smooth traffic on the expressway.

Rama Raman, chairman and CEO of Noida authority, says: “The Noida authority has sanctioned the construction of traffic junction at Sector 71 crossing. Thousands of commuters, who now have to face traffic snarls at Sector 71 crossing during peak hours will be able to ply through the new junction. An underpass and a four-lane flyover are already operational at Sector 37 junction. According to Master Plan 2031, Noida's population will touch 25 lakh in another 20 years, 19 lakh more than the existing population. Keeping this in mind, traffic plan has been revised for widening of roads connecting to the sectors from the existing 30 metres to 45 metres.“

The Noida authority is already working to streamline traffic by abolishing various bottlenecks on the city's roads. Roads like those in Sector 18, Rajnigandha Chowk, Sector 37 and Choura Mode have already been widened to meet the growth of vehicular movement. In addition, a second bridge will be built on Okhla Barrage parallel to the existing Yamuna bridge.

Over the years, the lack of space for parking vehicles has risen to alarming proportions because of the lack of planning. Traffic chaos is a common problem, as limited space for parking leads to improper parking across all roads. Due to the bottleneck created by vehicles parked haphazardly on the roads and even encroaching upon footpaths in many areas like Harola market, Sector 6, Sector 15, Sector 16, Sector 62, etc, entering Noida during peak hours is very difficult. A large number of vehicles belonging to the BPO companies can be seen parked at random, mostly on roads in Sectors 16, 3, 24, 58, 59, 60, 61, and 62.

To make sure the smooth flow of traffic, Noida authority has planned to open new multilevel parking lots in the city across Sectors 5, 8, 18, 57, and 63. The authority has finalized the design for the parking lots that lie in four industrial sectors and one business sector of the city.

For signal-free travel for commuters on the busy Hindon bridge across the Okhla Barrage, which connects Kalindi Kunj to Noida, a new bridge parallel to the existing one has been. Since 1986, the existing bridge has seen a great increase in vehicular traffic.

The existing old bridge is also to be upgraded and work is being taken up in phases on both sides of the carriageway. The existing bridge was designed to cater to only around 10,000 vehicles a day, but nearly 1,00,000 vehicles ply on it every day.

The barrage was built to check the flow of Yamuna and prevent floods. It has a two-lane link on each side to connect Noida with areas like Kalindi Kunj and Mathura Road, which cannot cope with the volume of traffic. Colonies sprouting up along Noida-Greater Noida Expressway have also contributed to the unchecked rise in traffic.

The Noida authority has already expedited work on two bridges to be built across Yamuna, which will improve connectivity between Noida and Faridabad.

The first bridge will connect FaridabadNoida-Ghaziabad (FNG) Expressway with Haryana in Faridabad.

This bridge will be constructed in Noida's Sector 150. The other bridge is proposed to link Noida's Sector 168 with Faridabad's Badoli village.

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