Berhampur: The six-laning of the 110 km stretch on NH 16 between Tangi-Chandpur by-pass and Berhampur remains unaddressed, even though traffic on this vital commercial corridor of the state has surged significantly over the years.
Experts say that given the daily increase in the volume of heavily loaded goods carriers, buses, private vehicles and small segment vehicles it has become not only a matter of convenience but also a necessity for the transport department to keep a check on the number of road accidents on the stretch through the much-needed expansion.
Bhubaneswar and Berhampur lie along the stretch of NH 16 passing through the state. Since both cities are growing commercially, transportation and commuting are on the rise along this route as well.
Also Read: Over 7,500 delegates from 20 countries to attend Odisha business conclave
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) carried out the expansion from single-lane road to four-lane two-way roads across the country under the ‘Golden Quadrilateral’ project back in 2004. About a decade later, expansion of the highways from four-lane roads to six-lane roads began following massive land acquisitions alongside the roads. Some excess curvy roads were also straightened to increase the line of sight and visibility of the drivers.
However, a similar expansion failed to take off on the Tangi-Chandpur by-pass and Berhampur stretch on the highway. From the safety of journey point of view, road accidents can be minimised only when the vehicles have a wider drivable area so that there can be enough space between them to avoid a collision. Although there are flyovers already in place at various critical junctions through the route, some junctions between Chhatrapur and Berhampur still need to have flyovers in view of the repeated occurrence of fatal accidents.
Experts say now that much time has already elapsed for six-laning, taking traffic volume into consideration, construction of a separate expressway from Cuttack/Bhubaneswar to Berhampur would be a better option.
PNN
