Sankranthi travel surge brings NH-65 to a crawl
HYDERABAD: Traffic congestion on the Hyderabad–Vijayawada National Highway continued for the fourth consecutive day on Monday, driven by heavy Sankranthi holiday travel and construction-related bottlenecks along the stretch.
Officials said prolonged queues were reported at underpass bridge construction sites near Chityal and Pedda Kaparthi, where lane restrictions have slowed traffic in both directions. Additional delays were recorded at major town crossings, including Choutuppal, Kattangur and Suryapet.
To ease the congestion, toll operators expanded booth operations. At the Pantangi toll plaza, 11 of the 16 booths were opened for vehicles heading towards Vijayawada. Similarly, six of the 12 booths at the Korlapadu toll plaza were made operational in the same direction.
Traffic police and highway authorities have also deployed drone cameras to monitor traffic build-ups in real time and manage diversions. Despite these measures, officials said the situation is unlikely to ease immediately and warned that heavy congestion is expected to persist through the day and into Tuesday.
Over the past four days, more than four lakh vehicles have used the highway, officials added.
