Govt looks to Japan for traffic leap

The ministry of road transport and highways has decided to borrow from Japan a novel method of untangling the traffic mess at the Hero Honda Crossing on the Gurgaon Expressway.

The ministry plans to branch out the expressway into three-four elevated stretches inside a building and is likely to soon appoint a consultant to facilitate the introduction of the traffic model tried in Osaka, Japan.

It is hoped that the project, on which the Hindustan Times reported on June 27, 2012, will lead to the segregation of local and interstate traffic – thereby reducing congestion at the crossing – that will later join the rest of the highway through cloverleaf roads.

The ministry has also decided to try a similar model while constructing the eight-lane elevated corridor on the Delhi-Dasna road (up to Eastern Peripheral Expressway) on National Highway 24 in Uttar Pradesh.

The proposed model is likely to pave the way for a new approach to privately funded road infrastructure projects that may not require motorists to pay toll as the project promoters would generate revenue from other sources such as rentals and advertisement.

According to ministry officials, similar models have been successful in crowded metros in the developed countries. The most famous example of such a project is the 16-storey Gateway Tower in Osaka, where a stretch of the Hanshin expressway passes through two floors.

On the Delhi-Dasna road, the officials said the corridor could be developed as an intermodal transport corridor with such as railway and waterway connectivity and electricity supply. This could also minimise the necessity of land acquisition.

The NH 24 corridor between Delhi and Ghaziabad has several residential colonies, including Indirapuram, Vaishali, Vasundhara and Vijay Nagar.

sourch:http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/gurgaon/Govt-looks-to-Japan-for-traffic-leap/Article1-1018624.aspx