T.R.Baalu

DAUSA: The United Progressive Alliance Government will implement all road projects including the Golden Quadrilateral, the East-West Corridor and the North-South Corridor, conceived of by the National Democratic Alliance regime.

It will convert the Golden Quadrilateral into a six-lane road, Union Minister for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways T.R. Baalu said on Tuesday.

He addressing a function after laying the foundation for a high level bridge on the Morel river on National Highway 11A, 63 km from here in Rajasthan. The Rs. 11.89-crore bridge will facilitate all-weather traffic in the Dausa-Lalsot-Kothun segment of NH 11A. The 145-km highway connects NH 8 (Delhi-Ahmedabad), NH 11 (Agra-Bikaner) and NH 12 (Jaipur-Jhalawar-Jabalpur).

"The UPA Government has been able to give a major thrust to development and maintenance of the national highways network. A length of 4.77 km per day is being completed at present as against 1.86 km completed a day during the NDA Government," Mr. Baalu said. It proposed to spend Rs. 1,72,000 crore on development of national highways and other roads by 2011.

Contracts awarded

The entire 5,846 km of the Golden Quadrilateral connecting Delhi-Mumbai-Chennai-Kolkata, including 722 km in Rajasthan, was four or six-laned. The government had awarded 132 contracts amounting to Rs. 33,227 crore for four-laning 5,552 km under the National Highways Development Project (NHDP). "This is the highest ever achievement in contracts and would amount to faster development of national highways," he said.

The Golden Quadrilateral and the corridor, forming part of NHDP phases I and II, are scheduled for completion in December 2008.

Pointing out that the map for road development in the country was ready Mr. Baalu said NHDP phase III would cover 10,000 km of roads and under NHDP IV 20,000 km would be widened to two-lane. Under NHDP V 6,500 km would be six-laned, while under NHDP VI construction of 1,000 km of expressway would be carried out. Under NHDP VII construction of ring roads, overbridges, bypasses and underpasses would be taken up.

Widening roads

A sum of Rs. 413.17 crore had been sanctioned for widening, strengthening and improvement of 2,380 km of roads falling under the stretches not covered under the NHDP. Of 7,300 km of national highways forming the East-West Corridor connecting Silchar to Porbander and the North-South Corridor connecting Srinagar to Kanyakumari, including the Salem-Cochin spur, a stretch of 556 km is in Rajasthan. The government has approved the implementation of widening of 4,000 km of national highways to four-lane on the BOT basis under NHDP Phase III A.

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