GUWAHATI, Jan 23 - The State government is understood to have given the go-ahead for the �Safe Corridor Demonstration Project� to be implemented on the 23-km Jalukbari-Bharalumukh-Ulubari-Khanapara stretch of the city with an aim to put in place a comprehensive traffic and transportation plan to check the growing traffic disorder.
The project is part of the World Bank-aided Assam State Road Project.
Official sources said a stakeholders� meeting held on Sunday with Chief Secretary VK Pipersenia in the chair, which took up the detailed project report prepared by South Korean firm ISAN Corporation, has given its go-ahead to the project. �The government has directed floating of tenders observing all other formalities,� the sources told The Assam Tribune.
The estimated cost of the project is Rs 96 crore. While the World Bank had earlier assured of funding Rs 36 crore which is comprised of the civil and electrical works, the State government is learnt to have been pursuing with the international financial institution for funding the remaining component, which mainly comprises the sophisticated centralised control room.
Sources said the Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) has agreed to provide the third floor at its Paltan Bazar office for setting up the control room.
There are several stakeholders, including the police, transport department, GMC, GMDA, etc., that will have to implement the project. ISAN Corporation, which provides engineering consultancy services, will monitor the implementation.
The control room will be under the traffic police and it will monitor and control the signal system, depending on the traffic at a given point of time.
The DPR also proposes cameras to capture traffic rule offenders at vulnerable junctions and subsequent issuing of e-challans. �Besides, several new engineering features have been proposed by the company, including signalised pedestrian crossing facility, median fencing, fencing along footpath, bus bays and shelter,� the sources said.
The channelisation of traffic will be done using various other means like detouring at certain junctions to reduce conflict points. There will be fencing along the footpaths and pedestrians will be able to cross the road only at designated points which will be around 150-200 metres apart. The study has also suggested no-parking zones on certain stretches of the road. The DPR proposes realignment of median for uniformity of lane width in either direction with median fencing to avoid joy walking of the pedestrian and improve safety of the road users.
There will be signalised pedestrian crossing facilities at 53 locations, besides those at the rotaries on the proposed route. The DPR proposes to improve the intersection with signal and additional right turn lane at 28 locations. There will be median opening for vehicles only at the designated 28 signalised intersection.
The bus bays at Kamakhya, Bhootnath, Bharalumukh, Ulubari, Bhangagarh, Ganeshguri, Dispur, Six Mile and Khanapara will be relocated.
The DPR also proposes installation of signalised intersections at Kamakhya and Guwahati Club instead of the existing roundabout to improve the capacity of the intersection and decrease queue length.
Automatic Over Speed Detection systems will be installed at 12 locations, besides 31 CCTVs and vehicle management systems.
Officials are hopeful that work on the project would begin by July this year and would be completed within 2019.
