Traffic jams have become a daily occurrence on the Masab Tank flyover due to the ongoing repair and restoration works. During peak hours, the stream of vehicles could be seen stuck from the flyover up to the PVNR Expressway staring at Mehdipatnam.
Besides, commuters, who have no inkling of the works, are horrified at the bumpy rides and loud noise while travelling on the flyover.
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has chosen to carry out the repair works during night in order not to disturb the traffic flow during the day.
As per information gathered from the Engineering wing officials, the repairs have been taken up to replace the strip seal joints, in order to arrest water leakage, and damage of the road at joints.
Work for repairs and restoration of age old flyovers in the city is being taken up by GHMC for some time. Already, the flyovers at Lalapet and Jamia Osmania railway station had been restored, after prolonged repair works which took well over six months. In both cases, traffic was completely stopped on the side of the road where repairs were being taken up.
However, in case of the Masab Tank flyover, it was not possible, officials said, because even with the flyover in place, the traffic crawls irrespective of the time of the day. Without the flyover, it would be mayhem.
“Repairs are being carried out at night, while the portion under repair is covered up using iron sheets during the day time to facilitate traffic,” an official shared.
Tenders for the strip seal joint restoration were called during January-February this year, and reportedly finalised with an estimated cost of ₹48 lakh.
Masab Tank flyover is 24 years old, and one among the first generation flyovers in the city along with the ones built at Narayanguda, Basheerbagh, and Tarnaka.
While the average running age of a flyover is around 30-40 years, this structure has started crumbling even before it could complete 25 years, forcing the authorities to expedite the repair works. In comparison, for Khairatabad flyover, which was built in 1986, no repair works have been taken up so far despite vehicles experiencing bumpy rides.
Maintenance wing officials have issued an internal circular with instructions for review of all the old flyovers in the city to assess the structural stability, and take up repair works wherever the intended load carrying capacity was not matching.
Officials said twenty-four flyovers have been chosen for the assessment, which include those at Khairatabad, Basheerbagh, Narayanguda, Secunderabad, Punjagutta, Begumpet, Tarnaka, Fatehnagar, Nalgonda Crossroads, Moosapet, Seetaphalmandi, Greenlands, Secretariat, and others.
Inspections need to be conducted, and based on the reports, maintenance operations may be taken up such as replacement of expansion joints and distressed bearings, treatment of damaged girders and cracked sections, grouting, RCC repairs, and application of anti-carbonation paint to protect exposed surfaces.
Published – July 15, 2025 12:24 am IST
