Hyderabad: The Shastripuram road-over-bridge, also known locally as the Uddamgadda overpass, is finally nearing completion after five long years, surpassing its 18-month deadline by a wide margin.
The proposal of the project was first cleared by the GHMC in 2017 at an estimated cost of Rs 71 crore. It aimed to ease traffic congestion on Mailardevpally–Vattepally road and provide a hassle-free avenue for people to bypass the Uddamgadda railway gate.
Construction started three years later, in 2021, as a joint venture of the GHMC and Railways.
The inordinate delay was flagged by All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president and Hyderabad MP, Asaduddin Owaisi, in the 2024 Winter Session of the Lok Sabha, where he jibed that the project would set a ‘new world record’ due to its delays.
“In my constituency, the Falaknuma RuB and the Shastripuram RuB will break the Guinness Book of (World) Records. For four years, it has been pending,” he had then stated.
Officials have assured that only small painting and electrical work is pending completion, after which the bridge will be opened for the public.
Traffic from Bibi ka Chashma, Falaknuma, Vattepally, Shastripuram, Teegalkunta, Nawabsahab Kunta (bound for Shamshabad), Katedan and Aramgarh use this road.
