BHUBANESWAR: The state government will undertake a survey for six-laning of National Highway-55, a key arterial corridor linking western and coastal Odisha, as part of its push to accelerate road infrastructure development and improve regional connectivity.
The decision was taken during a high-level review meeting of the Works department chaired by Works minister Prithiviraj Harichandan at Lok Seva Bhawan on Monday. The minister directed officials to fast-track pre-construction activities and statutory clearances for all proposed infrastructure projects.
The proposed six-laning of NH-55, which connects Cuttack and Sambalpur, is aimed at strengthening east-west movement of goods and passengers, particularly benefitting industrial and mining clusters in western Odisha while improving access to ports and urban centres in the coastal belt.
“The state’s overall development cannot be achieved by focusing only on major cities. Strengthening road connectivity across regions is critical to achieving the vision of a developed Odisha by 2036,” Harichandan said and stressed the need to increase execution speed and adopt modern software and project management tools.
Officials were instructed to initiate a detailed survey for the six-laning proposal and submit a report to the government for further action, including coordination with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
The meeting also discussed plans for an outer ring road for Cuttack, on the lines of the Bhubaneswar city expansion plan, to ease congestion and support future urban growth.
In addition, the minister directed the department to take expedited steps to upgrade all major state highways to four lanes, wherever feasible.
Several key urban and inter-city road projects were reviewed, including widening and construction of stretches such as Jayadev Vihar-Nandankanan road, Patharagadia-Daruthenga road, Palasuni-Garage Chhak, Acharya Vihar-Kalinga Hospital road and proposed corridors linking Kelucharan-Phulnakhara and Kaimatia-Gothapatana.
Discussions were also held on major national highway projects, including Konark-Puri-Satapada road widening, Pipili-Konark realignment, Cuttack-Kandarpur-Balikuda corridor and bypass roads at Jeypore and Balangir.