# Long-Pending Road Plan Can Transform Udaipur's Traffic Future, Says Town Planning Maestro Satish Shrimali
*UDAIPUR, Rajasthan* — As Udaipur grapples with worsening traffic congestion, rapid urban expansion and increasing pressure on ageing infrastructure, retired Additional Chief Town Planner *Satish Shrimali*, regarded as one of Rajasthan's leading town planning experts, says the city already possesses a blueprint capable of transforming its transport network — if authorities implement it.
Shrimali, who prepared Udaipur's comprehensive road network proposal in 2011 while serving in the Urban Improvement Trust, said the master plan envisioned nearly *35 strategic road projects* designed to accommodate future growth, reduce congestion and create a modern, interconnected transport system.
Fifteen years later, many of those projects remain on paper even as traffic volumes, tourism and urban development have expanded far beyond the levels anticipated when the plan was prepared.
"The city's traffic challenges are not because solutions don't exist. Most solutions were identified years ago. What is needed now is implementation," Shrimali said during an interview.
The proposal was based on a simple principle: divert through traffic away from the city while creating multiple internal connectivity corridors so local commuters are no longer dependent on a handful of overloaded roads.
Among the plan's biggest recommendations were *two outer ring roads* that would allow heavy vehicles and long-distance traffic to bypass Udaipur instead of entering the city's busiest corridors. According to Shrimali, this alone could substantially reduce congestion across the urban core.
Within the city, the plan proposed approximately *35 new roads, missing links and road widening projects* to create alternate routes between residential areas, commercial centres, transport hubs and educational institutions.
Key proposals included a new corridor behind the Roadways Bus Stand to divert bus traffic away from the congested Surajpole intersection, direct road connectivity between Sectors 3, 4, 5 and 6 and the railway station and bus terminal, an alternate airport approach connecting Pratap Nagar through Central School and Bohra Ganesh Ji to University Road, and a 60-foot road linking Bohra Ganesh Ji with the railway station to reduce pressure on existing city roads.
The blueprint also proposed widening several roads and constructing new 60-foot and 80-foot corridors connecting University Road, Subhash Nagar, Roop Sagar and adjoining residential neighbourhoods. Besides improving mobility, these roads were intended to support stormwater drainage and provide safer pedestrian movement.
Shrimali also pointed to one of Udaipur's fastest-growing urban corridors — the *Ambari–Nagda Road belt along National Highway 27* — where rapid residential and institutional development is creating new transportation challenges.
He said expanding neighbourhoods in *Vada, Ambari and adjoining localities* are increasingly dependent on the National Highway even for short-distance local travel because adequate internal road connectivity has not been developed alongside urban growth.
To address this, the 2011 master plan proposed a network of *60-foot and 80-foot internal connector roads* linking Ambari, Nagda Road, the Agricultural University area, educational campuses and emerging residential colonies. These east-west connector roads were designed to allow residents to move between neighbourhoods without entering the highway for local trips.
According to Shrimali, the proposed internal road grid would significantly reduce congestion on the highway, improve emergency access, shorten travel times and lower accident risks while supporting orderly urban expansion.
He warned that unless these internal roads are developed soon, the Ambari–Nagda Road growth corridor could face the same traffic and safety challenges experienced on the Debari corridor as residential development expanded on both sides of the highway.
The veteran planner also expressed concern over changes made to the original proposal for a major flyover connecting the airport corridor with the city. He said the original concept envisioned a direct flyover carrying airport-bound traffic toward the city centre, but a different alignment was eventually executed, leaving one of Udaipur's busiest intersections vulnerable to congestion.
Several road projects remain delayed because of land acquisition disputes and pending litigation. Shrimali said many of these obstacles could be resolved through coordinated planning, land exchanges and timely administrative intervention, allowing critical missing links to be completed.
Beyond transportation, Shrimali renewed his call for relocating the city's solid waste disposal site away from expanding residential areas near Balicha. He said continued urban growth around the existing landfill has increased concerns over air pollution, environmental degradation and public health, making relocation increasingly urgent.
With Udaipur continuing to expand as a major tourism, education and investment destination, Shrimali said the city has an opportunity to implement the long-pending road network before urbanisation makes future infrastructure development more difficult and expensive.
He said completing the proposed road network would improve traffic flow, strengthen road safety, support planned urban growth and create a more resilient transportation system capable of serving Udaipur for decades to come.
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