Indian Express 27.05.2010
As city expands, AUDA to construct another ring road
Syed Khaique Ahmed Tags : civic, Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority Posted: Thu May 27 2010, 01:22 hrs
Ahmedabad: To ease pressure on the Sardar Patel Ring Road, the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA) has decided to construct another ring road on the periphery of 64 villages incorporated within its jurisdiction recently.AUDA authorities say that if a new ring road is not constructed, the present one will not be able to accommodate the heavy traffic in the next four to five years, as scores of industrial estates and special economic zones are coming up within a radius of 50 km of the city. While Sanand is developing into an auto hub with Tata’s Nano car project, nearby Changodara has already become a pharmaceutical hub. Both are linked with the SP Ring Road.
According to AUDA officials, the development of five satellite towns in the periphery pf Ahmedabad — Kalol, Bareja, Sanand Mahemdabad and Dahegam — will also
add to the traffic on this stretch, which also caters to heavy traffic coming from south and central Gujarat industrial estates like Vapi and Ankleshwar.
Officials said that when the Sarkhej-Gandhinagar ring road was built in 1972, it was constructed as a national highway for heavy vehicles and inter-state traffic. However, with the growth of the city on the western side resulting into traffic congestion, it became an urban road losing its national highway character. That led to the construction of the 76-km long SP Ring Road and all inter-state traffic was diverted to this stretch.
But now the same thing, according to officials, is happening with this road. “SP Ring Road is going to receive a very heavy traffic in the next five years, and if no planning is done in this respect now, it will result into a chaos as far as heavy traffic is concerned,” AUDA Chairman Dharmendra Shah told The Indian Express.
He said that a provision for the ring road was being made in the development plan for 64 villages. Shah added that a new road was also required with the city growing into a metro and attracting people from all over the country. The width of the new ring road will be 90 metres. It will be the fourth ring road of the city, he added.
