Chandikhole: The National Highway-53 connecting Chandikhole with port city Paradip will soon be turned into a six-lane highway from the existing four lanes for which the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has started the survey work on the route, a report said.
Reports said the National Highway-53 connecting Chandikhole with Paradip is one of the busiest highways in the state. The stretch of the highway between Chandikhole and Paradip is of 77 km and often witnesses long traffic snarls due to regular movement of a large numbers of mineral-laden vehicles to port. As many as 10,000 trucks and heavy vehicles carrying iron ores, manganese, chromites, and coals from the mines of Keonjhar, Sundargarh and Jajpur districts travel on this route.
As a result, the NHAI has decided to turn the existing four lane highway into a six lane highway to accommodate more cargo and passenger vehicles on this route. A plan outlay of Rs 1,200 crore has been sanctioned for the project. The matter came to the fore after the NHAI authorities started survey works for turning the existing four-lane highway into a six-lane highway.
Reports said the Centre is keen to turn it into an eight-lane highway from the existing four lanes. If reports are to be believed the NH-53 will become the first eight-lane highway in the state.
Sources said the Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had laid the foundation stone for the highway in 1962. Later, works for the highway started and it was opened for traffic in 1968. The highway was then known as the Express Highway and later named as National Highway 5 (A).
Years passed, the National Highway underwent a name change and became National Highway-53. The 77-km long highway passes on five big rivers for which new bridges will be built on the Mahanadi, the Luna, the Gobari, the Birupa and the Genguti rivers.
When contacted, chief general manager of NHAI Rama Prasad Panda said the survey work is now going on for six laning of the highway and the tender process will start from the month of June this year. However, the Centre has wants to start survey works for eight laning after it was decided to upgrade the Paradip port into a world class port. Necessary survey work for eight laning of the highway will be undertaken if the need arises, he added.
PNN
