AMARAVATI — The Andhra Pradesh government has approved a major urban governance initiative by sanctioning 99.19 crore rupees for Project SARTHI in Visakhapatnam.
The project stands for Systematic Augmented Radial Traffic and Hoop Induction and will deploy an artificial intelligence based traffic system across the coastal city.
The initiative covers 101 major intersections with an adaptive traffic control system to cut down commute times and ease gridlock. Enforcement technology will feature heavily in the rollout, with automated violation detection system cameras slated for 90 junctions.
Additionally, free-flow traffic monitoring systems will watch over 131 kilometers of busy city corridors. Security forces will also gain access to facial recognition cameras at 12 selected city hotspots alongside pedestrian safety signals at five busy crossings.
Funding for the technology corridor is split between state and local authorities. The provincial administration will provide 60 percent of the capital expenditure amounting to 49.54 crore rupees.
The remaining capital cost along with five years of operation and maintenance costs will be paid bi-annually by the local municipal body using its internal revenues and fine collections from traffic tickets. The regional development authority will also contribute 20 crore rupees to the central pool.