4,000 bulbs to illuminate Outer Ring Road soon

HYDERABAD: Motorists driving along the busy Shamshabad-Gachibowli stretch of the ORR (Outer Ring Road) have reason to cheer. The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority has decided to illuminate the entire 24.3 km stretch to ensure safe travel.

Nearly 4,000 LED bulbs with wattage of 90, 210, 1,000 and 2,000 will be installed specially on erected poles all along the route in the coming months. The digging work for placing the poles began a few days ago. April is the target for finishing the work on the main carriageway. Illumination of up and down ramps and service roads will be completed by July. According to B. Anand Mohan, chief general manager, ORR, the lights will be automatically controlled.

“We will be using a real-time, web-based monitoring and control system. Dimming and fault alarm (in case of lights not glowing, unauthorised opening of control boxes or abnormal power consumption) are the additional features. Four to five control panels will be set up and lights will be switched on or off through timers,” he said.

The Rs 30-crore project has been funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency. Phillips India is responsible for operation and maintenance for the next five years.

The Gachibowli-Shamshabad route was chosen for illumination because of the high density of traffic and increased number of accidents. The death toll from accidents in 2016 was 750, the highest since the inception of the ORR.