The construction work of Green National Highway NH-516E, a spur road (short route) of National Highway-16, passing through Eastern Ghats in Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) district, near here, seems to be progressing at a brisk pace.
If this 406.17 km-long Green Highway (the road is constructed using green, eco-friendly technologies and materials such as byproducts of industrial waste to reduce carbon footprint), becomes operational, people including tourists from cities like Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru coming via Vijayawada will not have to come to Visakhapatnam to go to popular tourist places Araku and Lammasingi. They can change their direction at Rajamahendravarm towards Rampachodavaram. They can then save at least 100 kilometres of travel time and fuel cost.
Subrahmanyam, a resident of Chintapalli town in ASR district, said, “Our road between Lammasingi and Chintapalli is being widened now. Some works are going on. We are happy. We hope for early completion of the road.”
“We are currently undertaking various phases of the road project. These include the paving material, trimming branches of trees and levelling with road roller among other works. We have to complete the maximum part of the road before the onset of Southwest Monsoon. It may be fully operational by the end of this financial year ending March 2025,” a sub-contractor of the road project told The Hindu.
The road was proposed in 2016 under the World Bank-financed Green National Highways Corridor Project, followed by survey work in 2018, and the construction work started in 2020.
The road has two ends at Rajamahendravaram and Vizianagaram, and is divided into six stretches (blocks).
They are, Rajamahendravaram-Rampachodavaram (44 km), Rampachodavaram-Kakarapadu (74 km), Kakarapadu-Lammasingi via G. Madugula to Paderu (134 km), Paderu to Kottabhalluguda (49 km), Bhalluguda to Bowdara (43 km) and Bowdara to Vizianagaram via Tatipudi (27 km). The estimated cost of this project is around ₹1,670 crore.
“If this road is completed it will be a boon to the people and tourists of forest belt of this north coastal Andhra Pradesh region. Actually the road was 12 feet for decades. Later, the State Government developed the road into 23 feet road. Later, the Union Government came forward with the concept of Green Highways, and considered this place for laying the Green Highway. Then, it decided to widen most part of the existing 23-foot road into a 42-foot two-lane road including 34-foot tar road road and 8-foot concrete patches (4 feet each on both sides),” said a Roads & Buildings official on condition of anonymity due to the Model Code of Conduct.
Published - May 21, 2024 07:39 am IST
