Defence minister and Lucknow MP Rajnath Singh has sent a letter to Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari requesting the construction of an elevated corridor over Shaheed Path.
Singh requested his cabinet colleague that while widening Shaheed Path is required, it is not possible due to the non-availability of road strips on either side; therefore, the feasibility of an elevated corridor over it should be examined and construction undertaken.
As vehicular pressure will continue to increase in the future, an elevated corridor needs to be constructed at the earliest, the letter said.
Special attention should also be paid in the design to provide for traffic movement via a “clover leaf” at the Kamta intersection near the high court, as this spot constantly faces heavy traffic jams, the letter added.
Shaheed Path is now the city’s major “North-South traffic artery” and has become the “lifeline” of Lucknow, the letter said.
The letter issued on Thursday mentions that during the tenure of the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1999-2000, a link road connecting four National Highways — Lucknow-Kanpur, Kanpur-Raebareli, Lucknow-Sultanpur and Lucknow-Ayodhya — was declared a highway and sanctioned for construction while he (Rajnath) was the surface transport minister. This road became famous as Shaheed Path.
In the 1981 Master Plan, only a four-lane corridor was earmarked for this 24-km link, and the road was built accordingly, he said.
By the time Amar Shaheed Path was completed, residential and commercial activities developed rapidly on both sides, leading to the growth of a new Lucknow.
At present, the city’s population is about 45 lakh and the number of vehicles registered with the RTO is 29 lakh, the letter said. When Shaheed Path was announced, the 2001 Census recorded a population of only about 22 lakh and around 5 lakh vehicles registered with the RTO, it added.
The “Vehicular Density to Road Surface Area Ratio” has reached an alarming level, resulting in severe traffic jams and frequent serious accidents, the letter said.
