VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu met Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari in New Delhi on Friday and requested the Centre to strengthen national highway connectivity to the state’s capital region, Amaravati, by linking it with major cities across the country.
The Chief Minister appreciated Minister’s sustained efforts in expanding and modernising India’s national highway network, noting that road connectivity has become a key driver of regional development and economic progress.
Naidu explained that Amaravati, emerging as a greenfield capital city, requires direct and indirect integration with the national highway grid to support long-term growth, mobility, logistics efficiency, and inter-city access.
He requested the Union Minister to prioritise these linkages to accelerate Amaravati’s development. A major point of discussion was the 6-lane iconic cable-stayed bridge proposed by the CM across the Krishna River at Muktyala-Mulapadu. Naidu urged the Centre to take up the construction of this bridge through the NHAI.
Naidu further explained that the iconic 6-lane bridge would connect Amaravati to three crucial national highways, offering seamless links to the Vijayawada-Hyderabad corridor, the Chennai-Kolkata highway, and the coastal road corridor. The bridge would also integrate Amaravati with the proposed Hyderabad-Amaravati greenfield expressway, enabling high-speed access between the two cities.
The Chief Minister said these improved connections would significantly reduce travel time for citizens, enhance logistics movement, and transform Amaravati into a mobility hub and a strategic logistics node within the national highway network.
Terming the 6-lane iconic bridge a critical infrastructure project for the Andhra Pradesh capital, Naidu requested the Minister to extend full central support for its execution.