Hyderabad, Oct 3 : A new Road over Bridge (RoB) was thrown open for traffic near historic Falaknuma Palace in the Old City of Hyderabad on Friday.

Hyderabad In-charge Minister Ponnam Prabhakar inaugurated the RoB, which has been built parallel to the existing RoB.

It is expected to ease traffic congestion on the key stretch, which connects Charminar-Falaknuma road to Chandrayangutta.

The 360-metre-long RoB, built for Rs 52.03 crore, is expected to benefit hundreds of commuters by reducing travel time and ensuring free-flowing traffic in one of the busiest areas in the Old City.

It will connect Chandrayangutta with major areas, significantly improving connectivity for thousands of tourists visiting Falaknuma Palace and Charminar.

It also comes as a relief for commuters travelling towards Falaknuma, Engine Bowli, Shamsheergunj, Aliabad, Chandrayangutta, and adjoining areas.

It took four years for the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) to complete the bridge over RoB over the Secunderabad-Falaknuma Broadgauge line.

The construction of RoB saw many hurdles, resulting in an inordinate delay. It was in 2018 that the Municipal Administration and Urban Development department cleared the proposal for the new parallel RoB.

An amount of Rs 52.03 crore was spent on GHMC civil work, railway scope work, shifting utilities of Hyderabad Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) and Telangana Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (TGSPDCL), and land acquisition.

AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, Rajya Sabha member Anil Kumar Yadav, MLAs Mohammed Mubeen and Mir Zulfiqar Ali, MLCs Riyazul Hasan Effendi and Mirza Rahmat Baig, Greater Hyderabad Mayor Gadwal Vijayalaxmi, GHMC Commissioner R. V. Karnan and others participated in the programme.

The RoB is one of the key projects taken up in and around the Old City in recent years to ease traffic congestion.

This has been inaugurated at a time when the preparatory work to provide Hyderabad Metro Rail connectivity to the Old City has gathered pace.

The state government has taken up work on the long-pending Metro Corridor from Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station (MGBS) to Falaknuma.

Hyderabad Airport Metro Limited (HAML) said last month that the land acquisition and demolition of affected properties in the 7.5 km Old City Metro Corridor have reached a crucial stage.

/IANS