CHENNAI: The rural development department has issued a government order (G.O.) for the construction of 100 high-level bridges across the state, with an estimated cost of Rs 505.56 crore.
Meanwhile, the state highways department too has released a G.O. allocating Rs 6,929 crore for the development of 3,268.53 km of highways under various schemes.
Both the orders were issued a few days ago.
According to the GO, commissioner of rural development and panchayat raj had proposed construction of 321 high-level bridges throughout the state. Out of these, 100 bridges were selected following field verification and were prioritised based on requests received through the ‘Ungal Thoguthiyil Muthalvar’ initiative, long-pending demands, and the potential to meet local needs by reducing travel distance between habitations and growth centres.
The government has approved the proposal to construct these 100 bridges at a cost of Rs 505.56 crore.
Similarly, of the Rs 6,929 crore allocated for the state highways department, Rs 2,091.65 crore has been earmarked for widening 1,378.36 km of roads under 619 projects.
Additionally, Rs 1,646.5 crore has been allocated for converting 253.46 km of two-lane roads into four-lane roads across 40 projects under Chief Minister Road Development Programme (CMRDP). The government has also sanctioned Rs 978 crore for the development of 19 bypass roads covering a total length of 97.31 km.
The remaining funds will be used for strengthening existing two-lane and four-lane roads, developing industrial roads, implementing road safety measures, and other district-level infrastructure works. This also includes the construction of bridges, river bridges, and related development projects, revealed the G.O.