Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari inaugurated three bridges and two road improvement projects in the Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra . The Minister inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for road projects worth Rs 777 crore. These projects are considered crucial for improving mobility for socio-economic development of the Gadchiroli district. The projects inaugurated were 855 mtr major bridge across Pranahita river on Nizamabad-Jagdalpur Road (NH-63) at a cost of Rs 168 crore; 630 mtr high-level bridge across the Indravati river near Patagudam on Nizamabad-Jagdalpur Road (NH-63) at a cost of Rs 248 crore; 30 mtr high-level bridge near Lankachen on Bejurpalli-Aheri Road; improvement of Bejurpalli-Aheri Road (SH-275) between Watra and Moyabinpeta; and improvement of Garanji-Pustola Road. With the construction of these key bridges, the national highway connectivity in Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh-Telangana is now complete. The total length of the national highway in Gadchiroli district has increased from 54 km to 647 km.
The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) has approved 44 road projects of 541 km length with an outlay of Rs 1,740 crore for Gadchiroli district. The foundation stones were also laid for four other major bridge projects across the rivers Wainganga, Bandiya, Perikota and Perimili. These projects are considered crucial for improving mobility for socio-economic development of the Gadchiroli district. The existing bridges across these rivers are narrow and often get submerged during monsoons. The bridge across the Wainganga river of approximately 825 mtr will improve connectivity between Gadchiroli and Chandrapur district. The Minister also asked NHAI officials to utilise the saved amount of Rs 50 crore during the works of major bridges to construct 14 minor bridges and ensure seamless transportation in inaccessible areas of Gadchiroli district.
The Minister would approve 35 km road development between Alapalli-Bamragarh in FY21 and the remaining 65 km in FY22. He also sought the state government’s nod to connect Desaiganj-Brahmapuri with Nagpur under the Broad Gauge Metro connectivity plan, which will reduce travel time to 75 minutes from the current two-and-a-half hours. The Road Transport & Highway Minister also proposed construction of a bridge on Wainganga river, along NH-353 B, at a total cost of Rs 99 crore, to be completed by NHAI and PWD. The proposed bridge will bring prosperity to small villages in the districts of Gadchiroli and Chandrapur.