The gruesome accident that occurred at Benz Circle in which five people were killed is a wake up call for the urgent need for construction of the flyover that is long-pending.
The stretch of National Highway No. 5 beginning from Skew Bridge right up to the N.T.R. Health University, known to the locals as the Ring Road, has become one of the most dangerous roads going by the number of accidents that have occurred on it. There were reportedly 12 deaths in this stretch of the road in the last calendar year.
Death traps
The Ring Road cuts the old part of the city from the newly-developing part and the traffic that cuts across it is ever growing. Besides the M.G. Road, traffic crosses NH-5 at Nirmala Convent Junction, Ramesh Hospital and N.T.R Health University Junctions. Every junction is a potential accident-prone area and those without working signals are death traps.
The accident statistics do not seem to bother the elected representatives. The construction of a flyover at Benz Circle is long overdue. The city administrators blame the elected representatives of not having the political will to get the funds required. While a flyover beginning from Skew Bridge is needed to cover all the four junctions mentioned, a small one that ends at Nirmal Convent Junction was sanctioned a year ago.
Even this flyover project that does not cater to the requirements of the city is not grounded. The two main political parties in the state, the Congress and the TDP, are playing the blame game. While the TDP is accusing the Congress of not having the political will, the Congress is accusing the TDP of delaying construction.
The contract for the construction of the flyover was given to Madhucon Projects, which was earlier owned by TDP MP Nama Nageswara Rao. The Congress leaders have repeatedly alleged that Mr. Nageswara Rao was delaying the construction.
It will be years before the inner and outer ring roads proposed by the UDA are completed. The flyover which can be constructed within a year seems to be the only quick solution to the dangerous traffic problem.
