Improving the connectivity of Solapur, located in the south-western region with the crucial Marathwada region of Maharashtra, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch 58 kms, four-laned, Solapur-Tuljapur-Osmanabad section of NH-211 (New NH-52) in Solapur in Maharashtra today.
The project is part of a larger project for four-laning of 98.717 kms Solapur-Yedashi section of NH-211 at a cost of Rs.972.50 crores. Notably, the PM had laid the foundation for this project in 2014.
The section of the National Highway has road safety features like two major and 17 minor bridges, four vehicular and 10 pedestrian underpasses, besides one 3.4 km bypass at Tuljapur that will help decongest the city.
Projects like these which are underway are seen to help decongest cities and build world class expressways.
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Earlier in 2014, the total length of National Highways in the country was 91,287 kms which has been enhanced to about 1,31,326 kms at present. In addition to this, about 53,031 kms of state roads has been declared as new NHs in principal. This is aimed at enhancing the length of National Highways in the country to two lakh kms.
“According to the government figures, National Highways have been built at a fast pace in the last four years.”
While only 16,505 kms of NH were constructed between 2010-11 to 2013-14, the Central Government has gone on to construct more than 28,531 kms between 2014-15 to 2017-18 with 2018 witnessing another 9,829 kms.
Through the ambitious Bharatmala Pariyojana which is a centrally sponsored and funded road and highway projects, the Government has its task cut out by focussing on improving the efficiency of road traffic movement across the country by bridging critical infrastructure gaps. Projects for more than 6,500 km road length have already been awarded under this programme.
This comes in the backdrop of expressways like the Peripheral Expressways around Delhi, Varanasi-Babatpur Expressway and Delhi-Meerut Expressway.
More such expressways are soon to come up like Delhi-Mumbai Expressway that will pass through the backward regions of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra; Nagpur-Hyderabad-Bangalore (NBH) Expressway, Bangalore-Chennai Expressway.
Previously, Union minister for road transport and highways, Nitin Gadkari, had set a target of awarding projects for 20,000 kms and constructing 16,420 kms of national highways during 2018-19.
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There are 191 traffic congestion points which have been identified across the country and projects are being undertaken to decongest these points.
“Thirteen such projects are complete while work is underway for 80. Detailed Project Reports are also being prepared for construction of Multimodal Logistics Parks at Nagpur, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Surat, Sangrur and Guwahati.”
Alongside, the Prime Minister is also set to launch a series of developmental projects in Solapur. Under AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation), he is expected to lay the foundation stone for underground sewerage system.
“The housing project will particularly help ‘beedi’ and textile workers. Sanitation and sewerage facilities will also improve. We are committed to furthering Ease of Living for our citizens,” tweeted PM Modi.
