NHAI Unlikely to Take Up ORR Project

Though the state government has announced that it is planning to construct a 184-km outer

VIJAYAWADA: Though the state government has announced that it is planning to construct a 184-km outer ring road (ORR) covering Vijayawada, Guntur and Tenali, the proposal may take much time to become a reality.

It is said that NHAI, that constructs roads on the basis of the traffic on the existing roads, may not take up the ORR.

It may be recalled here that minister for municipal administration P Narayana has already made it clear that the new capital of the state would be located between Vijayawada and Guntur and an outer ring road spanning over 184 km also would come up covering Vijayawada, Guntur  and Tenali.

There is no clarity on whether the state government will take up a new ORR in addition to the NHAI’s Vijayawada bypass road, which is also known as ORR or scrap the NHAI’s proposal.

The NHAI’s outer ring road was proposed to ease  traffic congestion on the two national highways (NH-16 and NH-9) that pass through the city.

The route of the already proposed NHAI’s ORR will be a part of the road from Mangalagiri (Guntur district) on NH-16 and meet NH-9 at Gollapudi  covering  Nunna, Mustabad and meet NH-5 at Peda Avutapally (Gannavaram). It will end at Gundugolanu in West Godavari district. A new four-lane bridge with a length of 3.4 km will come across Krishna river (upstream of Prakasam barrage) near Venkatapalem village in Guntur district, connecting Gollapudi in Vijayawada city. This will be the third road bridge across the Krishna in Vijayawada.

But sources said that chief minister Chandrababu Naidu wants the184- km ORR to cover new areas and more bridges on Krishna river.

However, senior officials with the R and B Department opine that NHAI will not take up the ORR projects.

“Moreover, it is not a good idea to make a proposal without considering the traffic on the roads at this moment. It seems that some officials want showcase ORR for the proposed ‘capital city’. But one has to keep in mind that the Hyderabad’s ORR has become a white elephant,” said an officer.

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