Oliphant Bridge passage reopened for traffic

Motorists and pedestrians heaved a sigh of relief after the police permitted traffic flow beneath the Oliphant Bridge in Secunderabad on Sunday evening.

The passage under the historic bridge – a key area in Secunderabad, connecting various parts of the city — was closed for traffic since August 7 for Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) to construct a steel bridge over the decades-old one. To avoid any untoward incident, the traffic police also diverted traffic from the area.

Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) took up several road repair works — the damaged paver blocks and road was cleared and replaced with a new black top stretch. The civic body officials said nearly Rs 90 lakh was spent on laying the new road with steel fibre under both the



RUBs, among other works.

Keeping in mind the heavy pedestrian traffic, new footpaths under the RUB were laid and steel railings installed. More importantly, steel pipes were laid to ensure smooth flow of stormwater. This apart, the road was extended from the RUB end towards Chilkalguda for the convenience of road users. The dingy place under the bridge was cleaned and painted.

Mohammed Majeed, Traffic Inspector of Gopalapuram, said Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) V Ravinder visited the location on Sunday evening to monitor the traffic flow. The GHMC officials said a lot of scaffolding material was still lying on the footpaths and HMRL was asked to clear the area by Monday morning to avoid any inconvenience to commuters.