Title - Safety features for motorists on Greenlands flyover

The accident causing a small strip of extra median on the Greenlands flyover will continue to remain so for some more time.With the South Central Railway (SCR) still ‘studying’ the plans submitted for strengthening the old flyover to facilitate removal of the divider, GHMC has decided to go in for some fresh safety features cautioning motorists about the ‘hurdle’.A short tender has been called and almost finalised to put up colourful and collapsible bollards from the divider till the end of the flyover near the Hyderabad Public School gate to a distance of about 500 metres along with glowing studs at a cost of Rs.4.9 lakh. Engineering-in-chief R. Dhan Singh said that the work was likely to be taken up in about a week. A cautionary board is also being planned to be put up near the HPS end to inform the commuters about the divider ahead and the need to form a single lane.Safety features like rumble strips, studs, chevron markings, collapsible bollards with radium stickers, signboards, blinkers, etc., put up a couple of years ago, got worn out over a period of time, even while the divider became a source of mishaps as speeding motorists and cars crashed into it after dark. Ever since the flyover was opened three years ago, traffic from Somajiguda towards HPS had three free lines, while in the reverse direction, vehicles had to suddenly break near the divider point at the centre into single and double lanes.

The divider, which is about 22 metres long, was originally a footpath of the old flyover. It was built right on top of the cantilever beam supporting the bridge over the railway tracks. Railway engineers contend that disturbing it could affect the bridge’s stability. The municipal corporation had prepared a set of designs with the help of a consultant to strengthen the old flyover from beneath and submitted the same to the SCR for approval. These were also vetted by the civic engineering wing of IIT Chennai.

Technical discussions have been taking place between GHMC engineers and SCR officials for the last few months.