It’s just a month left for its completion. But the final arc of Outer Ring Road (ORR) is not even half ready. Originally scheduled to be completed by November last year, the 33.33-km-long stretch between Shamirpet and Pedda Amberpet is all set to skip yet another deadline of June 2013.
Officials who took stock of the situation say it could be another six months before this stretch, which completes the 158-km-long ORR on city outer peripheries, falls in place.
Taken up as eight-lane access-controlled expressway, the ORR had already provided connectivity between Gachibowli and Shamshabad apart from an arc of access from Pedda Amberpet till Shamirpet traversing through Patancheru.
The work progress achieved so far on the final lap has been put at 45 per cent and officials now expect a completed main carriageway by November or December. “Once the main carriageway is ready, the service roads will take another three to four months,” he said.
The Shamirpet-Pedda Amberpet stretch has been divided into three packages and works awarded to two contractors. One package, about 10.6 km between Shamirpet and Keesara, has been given to one contractor while the rest from Keesara till Pedda Amberpet forming two packages, has gone to another.
Lack of resource mobilisation for the work is seen as a major factor and even the non-availability of gravel has come to hit the progress. “In last one month, the work has picked up a bit and we expect it will move smoothly now,” said the official.
The HMDA has been after the contractors to hasten up the work and even contemplated a cancellation threat. “But then, we have to take a balanced option and ensure the stretch is completed at the earliest. Extreme measures put the project in a limbo and lead to cost escalations,” he said.
The authorities recently released ‘retention money’ to the tune of Rs.8 crore to contractors. “It was released against bank guarantees and we hope the amount helps them speed up the work,” he added.
