Waluj to Chikalthana flyover will cost around Rs 2,000 crore

Ambitious announcement: Proposal for DPR to the ministry of road transport and highways

Aurangabad, Nov 26:

Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday again affirmed the construction of a 20 km long flyover from Waluj to Chikalthana at a function in Latur. A proposal has been sent in October 2021 by the local office of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to the road transport and highways department to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for this project costing approximately Rs 2,000 crore. No decision has been made yet.

The construction of a flyover in front of the airport is still in progress. If the decision to build the flyover is cancelled, the proposed 20 km long flyover could be speeded up. All the industrial estates from Waluj to the DMIC node will be connected. The traffic on Jalna road will also be eased.

Information of the project director

Arvind Kale, project director, NHAI, said the proposal to prepare the DPR was sent to the central department through the regional office in October. There has been no development yet.

Preparations for the survey:

A survey will be conducted to ascertain the requirement for the space to build a full 20 km long flyover and the number of properties that will be affected.

What about existing flyover:

At present the road from Waluj to Chikalthana includes flyovers at Cantonment, Mahavir Chowk, Kranti Chowk, Mondha Naka, Seven Hills and Cidco. Around Rs 200 crore has been spent on these bridges.

How much will this flyover cost:

It is expected to cost Rs 100 crore per km. For a distance of 20 km, it would cost around Rs 2,000 crore. This does not include land acquisition and other matters. Also, the length of time it takes to build the flyover will not include the increased rates of raw materials.

What happened to the DPR of Jalna road

In 2017, the DPR of Jalna road was prepared and sent to the central ministry of road transport for approval. Six lanes of the ten-lane road were for traffic, with two lanes on both sides for the service road. A DPR of Rs 473 crore was prepared. The project was later cancelled. This project was also announced by Gadkari in 2015. A new Beed Bypass was also announced. Those two projects were worth Rs 800 crore. But only Rs 73 crores were received for the work. Work of over-bridge, side drain and installing paver blocks is underway. The flyover in front of the airport will be constructed at a cost of Rs 73 crore. But due to the announcement of a single flyover, the work of this flyover has come to a standstill.