Improvement of level of service of an arterial road: a case study of Visakhapatnam

Abstract

Visakhapatnam is a port city on the southeast coast of India with a population of 1,730,520 (according to 2011 census), it is the second-largest city in the state of Andhra Pradesh (after Hyderabad) and the third-largest city on the east coast (after Chennai and Kolkata). The city is prominently growing in the industrial sector followed by the commercial and residential sectors. Growth of the industrial sector has resulted in the increase in employment opportunities thus an increased demand for residential and commercial uses. Some of the major industries in the area are Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, NTPC, BHPV, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, Port Trust, Hindustan Ship Yard, Satyam and WIPRO. The major arterial road (spine) of the city is the NH-5 passing through the city and other sub arterial and collector streets branch out from this highway. The existing road transport conditions in the city are degrading in terms that the roads are gradually getting congested; lack of smooth flow of traffic, increase in the number of accidents, traffic demand on the roads is more than their capacity.