Driving at the Ice Factory Junction near the Ring Road in Vizianagaram has turned into a herculean task for motorists with the continuous traffic of heavy vehicles on the narrow road that leads to Chintavalasa and Aainda junctions.
The junction has three 80-feet roads but the road that leads to the city outskirts, towards Chintavalasa and Aainda junctions remained a narrow one for decades and is now posing as a traffic bottleneck, putting the safety of the road users at risk.
This narrow road connects the towns of Srikakulam, Rajam and Nellimarla to Visakhapatnam, and Anakapalli sees heavy traffic from big vehicles, including lorries and buses, making the drive a risky affair, especially for the two-wheeler riders.
The vehicular rush peaks during the evenings with many college buses and office buses plying the road.
Given this background, Vizianagaram Superintendent of Police M. Deepika and DSP (Traffic ) D.Viswanath recently inspected the junction and made a recommendation to the district administration to widen the road, keeping in view the safety of the motorists.
The government estimate for the road widening works stood at ₹60 lakh, said the officials.
“We have allocated additional traffic police personnel to monitor the traffic situation at the Ice Factory Junction. We will discuss the issue again in the next road safety meeting,” said Ms. Deepika.
Deputy Speaker and Vizianagaram MLA Kolagatla Veerabhadra Swamy also said that there is a proposal to lay an 80-feet road between the Ice Factory Junction and Aainada Junction and assured that the project would be taken up as and when the government sanctions funds.
