2 roads to Nepal border to get wider

The National Highway wing of UPPWD will soon send a proposal to the Union Road Transport and Highways Ministry for the upgradation of these routes.

In fact,the Ministry had identified the highways — which are in a bad shape — and advised the UPPWD to send proposals for their widening and strengthening on a priority basis,said an official.

“To prepare detailed project reports,consultants will be appointed after getting the approval of the Ministry,” said Arun Kumar Sinha,Chief Engineer (National Highways),UPPWD. At present,the width of these two-lane sections is seven metres.

The UPPWD proposes to widen it to 10 metre at a cost of approximately Rs 500 crore,to be funded by the Centre.

Widening of the Gorakhpur-Sanauli section,which is part of National Highway 29,will also facilitate smooth flow of traffic to Varanasi. The Centre has already approved a proposal for widening the 209-km Gorakhpur-Varanasi section.

The Barabanki-Rupaidiha section,which is part of National Highway 28,connects Barabanki to Rupaidiha via Ghagra Ghat-Bahraich-Nanpara. From Barabanki to Kanpur via Lucknow,the highway is already being widened by the National Highways Authority of India.

For the first time in UP,national highways are going to be developed on a PPP model. Besides Gorakhpur-Varanasi,the other five stretches approved by the Centre for development include Kanpur-Kabrai (123 km),Sitarganj-Bareilly (87 km),Aligarh-Kanpur (268 km),Rae Bareli-Allahabad (119 km) and Agra-Aligarh (79 km). Bidding for these stretches is likely to be held in January-February 2010.

The UPPWD has already sent a proposal to the Centre for widening of eight other stretches.