Green signal for ring road, Jabalpur traffic to bypass Bhopal, save 1 hour

Bhopal: The long-pending ring road project has been cleared with approval of the revised alignment of the western bypass, paving the way for construction after years of delay. The 35.61-km four-lane corridor is expected to reduce traffic pressure on the city by diverting vehicles coming from the Jabalpur side directly towards the Indore road without entering Bhopal, cutting nearly 23 km of distance and saving one hour of travel time. Officials said, the land acquisition for the corridor is currently underway. The project would be developed through hybrid annuity model. In the board of directors meeting of the Madhya Pradesh road development corporation chaired by theCM on April 1, the board approved the revised alignment of the west Bhopal bypass and granted in-principle approval for its construction.Project was initially to take off in 2023, but got stalled due to environmental issues and allegations that influential people bought land around the proposed highway. Govt authorities said hurdles of the project have been cleared, and Bhopal would get its much-awaited ring road in the next two years. Top govt officials point out that the work will start on ground in the next few months.The 35.61 km of western highway would start from close to Mandideep (on Bhopal and Mandideep road) and end on Indore Road near village Phanda Kalan. It would have four lanes, including paved shoulder- a stabilized, all-weather surface adjacent to the main traffic lanes, typically paved with asphalt or concrete. It enhances road safety by providing emergency stopping space, accommodating bicyclists and pedestrians.