The Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, performed, on Thursday afternoon, the ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of an Interchange project and improvements along M3-A14 Corridor, in Ebene. This project, to the tune of some Rs 524 million, consists of a Grade Separated Junction at the Ebene Cybercity roundabout, the dualing of the Ebene flyover over the M1 Motorway, and the construction of a new Dumbbell roundabout including new slip lanes on M3 Motorway.
The Minister of Land Transport and Light Rail, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mr Alan Ganoo; the Minister of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change, Mr Kavydass Ramano; the Minister of Financial Services and Good Governance, Mr Mahen Kumar Seerutun; the Minister of National Infrastructure and Community Development, Mr Mahendranuth Sharma Hurreeram; the Parliamentary Private Secretary, Mrs Tania Diolle; and other personalities were also present on this occasion.
In a statement, Prime Minister Jugnauth highlighted that the Road Decongestion Programme is ongoing with several projects in the pipeline, such as the interchange project in Ebene. He observed that road users face several difficulties near the Ebene roundabout everyday even outside peak hours and, as such, Government had to come up with a viable solution.
The Prime Minister expressed confidence that the new flyover at Ebene Cybercity Roundabout and the widening of the Ebene flyover over the M2 motorway will ensure a better traffic flow in this region. Government, he stated, adopted a holistic approach with regards to the enhancement of road infrastructures around the island, as evidenced by the extension of the Metro Express Project from Rose Hill to Reduit. Public transport service is also being enhanced so as to ensure better service to commuters, he added.
However, he conceded that temporary traffic diversions will take place during the duration of works in Ebene, which may be inconvenient for road users. He thus appealed to them to be patient and comprehensive as the works undertaken will ultimately be beneficial for them in the future.
About the Interchange project
The rapid development within the central part of the island, namely at Ebene, Reduit, Moka and Highlands has caused saturation of the road network. During peak hours, it is observed that the Motorway M3 (southbound) is severely congested due to the single lane traffic on the existing Ebene flyover across Motorway M1.
Moreover, the existing Ebene Cybercity roundabout which is highly congested is disrupting free flow of traffic from Rose-Hill to Motorway M1/M3 and vice versa. Traffic coming from Motorway M1 (northbound) from St Jean leading to Motorway M3 is also exerting additional pressure on the Ebene Cybercity roundabout.
As such, the Road Development Authority is undertaking the Ebene flyover Project so as to: improve traffic flow along M1 and M3 motorway and at Ebene Cybercity roundabout; eliminate bottleneck on the A14 Road (M3 – Rose Hill corridor); decrease in travel time for incoming traffic in Ebene region; contribute to boost economic development in that region by providing better connectivity.
