Works on Hyderabad-Vijayawada NH65 hit roadblock

Though the NHAI invited tenders twice early this year, not a single company responded to take up the corrective works on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada NH65

Hyderabad: The proposal of the Centre to take up corrective works at accident prone spots and construction of a Vehicular Underpass (VUP) on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada National Highway 65 has hit a road block as no company is coming forward to take up the works.

Though the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) invited tenders twice early this year, not a single company responded to take up the corrective works. The Centre had conducted a detailed survey of the highway and identified 17 black spots on the route and even sanctioned Rs.450 crore to take up the works, but construction companies are not coming forward to take the work as they claim it was not viable.

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According to Roads & Buildings Department officials, the NH-65 stretch between Hyderabad and Vijayawada was supposed to be upgraded into six lanes, but since the Centre had dropped the proposal stating that it was already four lanes and that it was enough to handle the current traffic flow on the route, the contractors were disappointed and not showing interest in taking up the corrective works at the identified black spots.

The expansion got delayed as the concessionaire GMR company went to court for several issues.

In fact, union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari told Lok Sabha that there was no need to make the Hyderabad-Vijayawada National Highway 65 into six lanes as there were already four lanes at the Nandigama section in the united Krishna district. He further stated that the works of the six-lane highway have commenced from the 15th kilometre to the 40th kilometre of the NH-65, hence there was no need to upgrade the entire stretch. He however assured that corrective measures would be undertaken to reduce accidents on the black spots of the NH-65.

The union Minister even ordered NHAI officials to conduct a detailed survey of the accident prone areas of the highway and take up corrective measures. Though the Centre completed the survey and even invited tenders to take up works, so far no company has come forward.

Earlier, Nalgonda and Bhongir Congress Lok Sabha members N Uttam Kumar Reddy and Komatireddy Venkat Reddy had raised the issue several times in the Parliament and also submitted petitions to Nitin Gadkari, but the Centre turned down their request.