ROURKELA : mroad connectivity from the Steel City will soon get a major boost as efforts are underway to widen the Jareikela-Rourkela section of National Highway (NH)-320 D after the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways sanctioned Rs 209.92 crore for the 36 km stretch in March this year.
Six months back, the Works department had handed over the Rourkela-Jareikela road stretch, categorised as a major district road, to the National Highway Division (NHD) for upgradation as NH-320 D. The NH-320 D is a secondary route of NH-20 between Bakhtiyarpur in Bihar and Satabhaya in Odisha. It connects NH-20 at Chakradharpur via Manoharpur, Sonua and Goeilkera in Jharkhand and Rourkela and Jareikela of Sundargarh district in Odisha.
Sources said land acquisition process has started for the stretch of around 25 km between Jareikela and Diesel Colony of Bondamunda. For the rest 11 km stretch, the NHD depends on the Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) for land. Besides, the RSP has to provide land for widening of the 5 km stretch from Diesel Colony to Bisra Square.
For the remaining 6 km stretch between Bisra Square and Hockey Square where the new NH-320 D would meet NH-143, the alignment remains a problem. At least 4 km stretch of the RSP’s ring road has hardly any parallel space for the NH-320 D.
NHD executive engineer Santosh Patra said land acquisition for around 24 km stretch from Jareikela side started in April. For the remaining stretch, the RSP has been requested to provide land. “It would be a two-lane road with paved shoulder and width of the carriageway without divider would be 10 metre. Talks are underway with the South Eastern Railway for a road over bridge (ROB) near Mahinpani in Bisra block. Another ROB is being constructed by the Works department at Kukudagate level-crossing near Bondamunda,” he added.
Former general secretary of the Steel Executives’ Federation of India (SEFI) Bimal Bisi said the NH-320 D connecting NH-20 in the eastern end and NH 143 in the western end would set up direct highway network to key destinations in Jharkhand, Bihar and many parts of Odisha.
Former sarpanch of Bisra Gopal Singh said currently, rural traders of the block are using long undeveloped routes to visit Tatanagar for marketing. The NH-320 D would open up economic opportunities for tribal pockets in Odisha and Jharkhand making transportation cheaper and easier.
