HT Test drive: Lucknow’s outer ring road set to put commuters on fast track

Last minute touches are being given on the eight-year-old 104-kilometre-long outer ring road project that is set to be inaugurated in March just before the model code of conduct for 2024 Lok Sabha polls kicks in.

Days before its much-awaited opening, HT drove through patches of the eight-lane quadruple-carriageway stretch to get a sense of how this project would unlock improved connectivity and decongest the state capital and other cities, measures that would bring a relief to the masses.

HT’s test drive started from the cloverleaf interchange near Kala Gaon crossing on Ayodhya highway and from there on the nearly 35-kilometers long drive on the freshly tarred road till Bakshi Ka Talab (BKT) was quite smooth.

Driving through, we crossed several flyovers and noticed exit points at national and state highways that provided for seamless entry into and exit from the city.

Between Chinhat and BKT, for instance, the Dewa-road exit is available through the service lane. The right turn leads to Dewa Road, the left towards Chinhat.

The next exit is after 10-kilometers with Behta (SH 172) in the south on one side and Kursi, Mahmudabad and Barabanki in the north. Until the BKT crossing, several kilometers away, the ride is smooth.

Barring a small stretch between the BKT police outpost and Sarosa Bharosa crossing near Agra Expressway, where some construction is still underway, work is almost done. Construction is on at three places including Kakrabad, Kasmandi and the one near Agra Expressway including Hardoi road. Not surprisingly then, this stretch is full of construction equipment and load bearing vehicles.

Due to ongoing construction-related hindrances on some patches, we took detours intermittently. Between Agra Expressway to Indira canal, the nearly 40-kilometer drive, past Kanpur Road in Sarojini Nagar (NH27), Bijnor, Banthara, Kalli Pashchim, Raebareli road (NH30), Nagram Road, Sultanpur Highway (NH731), was mostly smooth.

The concluding stretch of our test drive was on the 10-kilometer stretch between Indira canal to Chinhat, Kala Gaon Crossing and here too we moved along smoothly.

Until we exited at Faizabad road near Chinhat, we witnessed road signages indicating safety measures, speed limits and distances, bike lanes on either side, drains on both sides to guard against water stagnating on the road.

The road project, which connects five national highways and six state highways, was taken up in phases - first from BKT to Sultanpur Road, Behta Road, Sitapur Road, Kursi Road, Ayodhya Road, Indira Canal, Mohanlalganj and Kanpur Road, the second from Bani on Kanpur Road to BKT via Mohan and Kakori Road.

As one drives along, the lanes from either side of the Indira canal converge at its end, leading towards Bakshi ka Talab. The NHAI has also constructed six-foot overbridges, and smaller connecting bridges too for convenience of pedestrians moving in those areas alongside the Kisan Path.

Smooth travel awaits people

This 8-lane ring road connecting the city is equipped with radium signages indicating distance, safety, speed limits, directions for hassle-free travel.

Labourers are still working in 12-hour shifts on patches that still need attention, all in a bid to ensure that the outer ring road project is ready for commuters from March.

Only three portions of the bridge are under construction-- at Bakshi ka Talab, near Agra Expressway, and a small stretch ahead of Sultanpur Road. At some other locations roads and sides are being painted, dividers being constructed and speed breakers being installed.