Extended landing, minimal heritage impact,Maha Metro locks Sadar fly-over redesign

 

 

Maha Metro has finalised the redesign for the Sadar fly-over that involves dismantling the existing Eastern landing and extending it further ahead to ease chronic congestion, while sharply limiting land use from Kasturchand Park after completing consultations with Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. After nearly seven months of technical review, the authority has converged on one design option, which will now be refined over the next few weeks before tenders are floated and civil work is taken up, said the officials.

 

The corrective plan targets the fly-over’s most criticised element, the Eastern landing, opp. Kasturchand Park, where traffic convergence has repeatedly caused bottlenecks since the structure was commissioned in January 2020. Instead of improving traffic flow, the landing intensified congestion, particularly for vehicles emerging from Koradi Road, as it prompted the need for structural intervention earlier this year. MahaMetro had appointed M/s Astrum Techno Consultants Pvt Ltd as the Detailed Design Consultant to study possible solutions. Three alternative alignments were examined based on traffic behaviour, topography, existing infrastructure, and land availability. Following internal evaluations and detailed technical discussions with Gadkari, one option was shortlisted for execution. Extending the landing is expected to improve dispersal and reduce conflict points in this narrow corridor.

 

The proximity of Kasturchand Park, a protected heritage precinct, emerged as a key concern during the planning process. Sources said Gadkari directed planners to further refine the design and focus on alignment optimisation. Officials maintained that safe guarding the heritage precinct remains central to the redesign. As per the plans, the fly-over is going to get extended into Kasturchand Park and from there a landing with road, it will be beyond the existing metro station, before emerging at Samvidhan Square. Once clearance is granted, Maha Metro will proceed with tendering. Civil works are likely to begin by February or March, subject to procedural approvals and coordination with agencies such as the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). However when senior officials from NHAI were contacted regarding the project, they said they don't have any information regarding the new design plan.