BELAGAVI: In order to bolster inter-district road connectivity, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has decided to upgrade the Sankeshwar-Vijayapura state highway to a four-lane national highway in four different stages. An estimated Rs 766 crore funds have been released by the ministry for the initial two phases of the work that connects Vijayapura to Murugundi, stretching over 80 km.
Briefing about the road work, Chikkodi MP Annasaheb Jolle said tenders for the 40-km stretch of road in Chikkodi parliamentary constituency and another 40 km in Vijayapura district had already been invited by the central authorities and work on it would commence shortly.
"In the first phase of road upgradation, the work would be taken up between Vijayapura and Savalgi Cross and then from Savalagi Cross to Murugundi. The third phase of work covers the road from Murgundi to Shiraguppi and the fourth phase stretches from Shiraguppi to Murgundi to Gutur," said Jolle, adding that the funds for the third and fourth phase would be released once the work on the initial phases ended.
Due to the rising traffic on the Murgundi-Sankeshwar stretch of this road, JOlle said he had appealed to Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari to widen this particular stretch to four-lane. Until the road was widened, the Centre granted Rs 21.88 crore for the development of this stretch, he said, adding that a tender for it had been invited to finish the work at the earliest.
In the last few years, the traffic on all routes leading to Vijayapura district from Chikkodi region has risen as a large number of vehicles from the surrounding regions take this route.
Jolle also briefed about the high-tech court complex to be built in Chikkodi taluk which would have a court hall, library, special rooms for judges, custody for prisoners, advocates rest rooms, special rooms for women etc. He said it would be a one-of-its-kind court complex at the taluk level in the entire Belagavi district.