Nagpur’s Amravati road construction work is progressing at a snail’s pace, vehicles are crawling
Although the construction of two flyovers on Amravati Road at a cost of about Rs 450 crore is still going on, the cement road work worth about Rs 60 crore, most notably between the university campus and the wadi, is also progressing at a snail's pace.
Nagpur: The National Highways Department of the State public works department has completely failed to move even an inch on the concreting of Amaravati Road from University Campus Square to Wadi, which has also been a part of the ₹510 crore Amravati road redevelopment project.
Although the construction of two flyovers on Amravati Road at a cost of about Rs 450 crore is still going on, the cement road work worth about Rs 60 crore, most notably between the university campus and the wadi, is also progressing at a snail’s pace.
Several months ago, the agency that was assigned the job, also completely closed the stretch of road leading from University Square to Wadi, and the top layer of the tar road was also removed with a milling machine.
For this, about 75 percent of the road width had also been closed. The machine broke down on the first day itself and even after almost two months have passed, no work has been done in any way.
On Saturday, TOI had also taken stock of the problems being faced by the drivers. Jaideep Das, a commuter, said, “There is a traffic jam every day because of the slow pace of work.” and added, “Blocking more than two-thirds of a busy National Highway, that too a major road, is nothing but a complete disregard for the safety and well-being of commuters.”
Contractor should ensure that the stretch is pothole-free
Many motorists have pointed out that despite repeated requests in the past almost a month, around 200-300 meters of the main road are blocked. According to them, the pits dug for laying pipes and cables are not filled properly, which not only damages the vehicles but also causes mental agony to the drivers.
Public works department officials were not available for comment at all. DCP (Traffic) Chetna Tidke has also said that she will look into the matter.
West Nagpur MLA Vikas Thakre has also said that engineers are taking the side of an incompetent contractor. “As per the work order, the contractor should ensure that the stretch is pothole-free. At present, the road is riddled with several potholes, some the size of potholes,” said the MLA and added, “The deadline to complete the road work is December 2023. But it looks like it will take a few years to complete the work.”
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