UMERKOTE: The district administration is upbeat about the progress of the Raipur-Visakhapatnam National Highway as construction work has picked up pace after cent per cent land acquisition was completed two years back.
Being developed as an economic corridor under Bharatmala Pariyojana, the six-lane highway was proposed in 2014 and approved in 2017 with an estimated cost of Rs 20,000 crore. Construction work of the road kicked off last year and is in full swing after land acquisition was completed in 2020.
In Nabarangpur district, official sources said the estimated cost of the project is Rs 3,159 crore for the 124 km stretch that will pass through five blocks. The highway will be 60 meter wide on government land and 45 meter wide on forest land. Camps have been set up in various parts of the district to expedite the work.
Terminals, they said, will be constructed in six places - Koskonga and Biripur (Raighar), Adhikariguda (Umerkote), Chhelibeda (Dabugaon), Kharkhi (Papadahandi) and Dashpur (Nabarangpur) besides 188 box bridges and 55 piped culverts.
National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) project director Raju Zerong informed that cars and bikes will not be allowed on the road. Once ready, the travel time from Raipur to Visakhapatnam will be reduced to six hours. The project is expected to be completed by end of 2024.
Contacted, Nabarangpur Collector Kamal Lochan Mishra said,”The highway will pass through five blocks in the district namely Raighar, Umerkote, Dabugaon, Papadahandi and Nabarangpur. As far as land acquisition is concerned, Nabarangpur tops in the country as the only district in the country to complete the process in time.”