Vijayawada is getting its first bypass after a decades-long struggle. Vijayawada is the only city with four NHs going through the middle of the city without a single bypass. The citizens have been struggling to manage heavy vehicular traffic moving through the city for decades as successive governments have failed to put the plans on track.
Finally, relief is in sight as the six-lane Vijayawada bypass from China Autupalli to Gollapudi on NH-16 is nearing completion. Interestingly, this is not a mere bypass but also acts as an outer ring road from the west side of the city making it two bypasses to connect both NH-16 (Chennai-Kolkata) and NH-65 (Vijayawada-Hyderabad)
This is coming up with a river overbridge near Gollapadi which lands near China Kakani on the outskirts of Mangalagiri town in Guntur district. Centre cleared the project under Bharat Mala Pariyojana following a request made by the chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
The bypass (Vijayawada west outer ring road) has been split into two packages. While the Gollapudi-China Autupalli section was bagged by Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (Meil), the package from Gollapudi to China Kakani with a river overbridge has been granted to a consortium of Adani Enterprises Ltd and Navayuga Engineering Company Ltd.
The six-lane NH will ease traffic congestion for vehicles traveling to Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad as they would be able to bypass Vijayawada City.
This is our response to those who have been complaining that Vijayawada City was completely neglected after YSRCP came to power. They should open their eyes to see the development Vijayawada City witnessed in the last four years," said AP planning board vice-chairman and legislator Malladi Vishnu. He explained that chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had also got the East Bypass cleared by the Centre, works on which would be commenced very shortly. He said Naidu had ruined the city with misplaced priorities as he could not even allow the NHAI to complete the Benz circle flyover and Kanakadurga temple flyover with his frequent interferences in the guise of finalization of designs.