Skywalk at Mehdipatnam soon

A skywalk that will make life easier for pedestrians will soon come up near the busy Mehdipatnam Rythu Bazaar area with Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister KT Rama Rao approving the detailed designs here on Wednesday.

The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) will call for bids to take up the construction of the steel skywalk, MA&UD Principal Secretary Arvind Kumar tweeted on Wednesday. There are also plans to spruce up the premises by constructing re-designed bus shelters as part of the project which will be taken up at an estimated cost of Rs 34.28 crore.

According to officials, the project, aimed at improving pedestrian movement at one of the busiest junctions and most congested roads in the city at the Mehdipatnam Rythu Bazaar, includes an elevated pedestrian corridor and a commercial building including lifts. The site for the proposed skywalk abuts the PV Narasimha Rao Expressway with military land on one side and commercial and residential buildings on the other side. The skywalk has an overall travel length of approximately 380 metres



including above ground retail activity.

A series of bus stops on the military area side and a bus terminal on the commercial side brings in a lot of pedestrian flow into the space. People crossing either side of the inner ring road also face risk of accidents due to the heavy vehicular traffic in the area.

The design considers the two local roads to Asifnagar and Gudimalkapur as well, with the aim being to provide pedestrian connectivity from the military area side towards the commercial and residential areas that exist near these local roads.

The vertical connectivity towards the skywalk is introduced through a glass enclosure (modules) consisting of a staircase and a lift. It is proposed at 6.15 metres level to provide sufficient clearance for vehicle movement below as per IRC standards.

It is envisaged that after the completion of the skywalk, vehicular flow will significantly improve and pedestrians will have a comfortable option to move from one side of the Expressway to the other.