In Andhra Pradesh, some important national highway expansion projects are going through uncertain times as the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) top officials’ approvals are not coming. The state has repeatedly submitted detailed proposals and made requests, yet the projects said to be very important for the region are still at the clearance stage raising doubts about the future.
As per the officials, permission is still being withheld even when the projects are authorized, Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) are prepared, and then sent out. The proposed expansion of Pedana–Lakshmipuram highway and the Dornala–Srisailam highway, in particular, are the ones that have been most affected by this issue. State authorities say that despite submitting comprehensive reports outlining traffic needs and long-term benefits, the response from MoRTH remains unchanged.
Funding Questions Over Dornala–Srisailam Highway
The access to Srisailam, which is a prominent pilgrimage centre, through Dornala-Srisailam National highway (NH-765) is meant to be widened for a 77-km stretch. The road currently measures only 5.5 to 7 metres in width in most places. The detailed project report (DPR) suggests that the width be increased to 10 metres.
As the stretch passes largely through forest land, including a tiger reserve area, plans include constructing an elevated corridor for around 15–20 km to allow safe vehicular movement. It is said that the officials of MoRTH have requested the Andhra Pradesh govt to give them the clarification about the percentage of the cost of this elevated structure that they are going to share and the part of the cost they are going to bear. The officials are drawing the attention to the fact that Telangana has already accepted to share some of the costs in the case of the Hyderabad–Srisailam road, thus putting the Andhra Pradesh government under more pressure to do the same.
Doubts Over Vijayawada Elevated Corridor
In the past, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had given the nod to a 7-km-long elevated corridor on the Chennai–Kolkata National Highway that goes through Vijayawada, starting from Mahanadu Junction and ending at Nidamanur, with a price tag of ₹700 crores. Since there is also a Metro Rail line planned to run along the same route, a double-decker structure was suggested.
Nevertheless, it is said that senior officials from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways have changed their minds regarding the worthiness of the project and have mentioned the Vijayawada Western Bypass and the future Amaravati Outer Ring Road as reasons. Officials from the state have a different opinion and maintain that the elevated corridor is very much needed in order to reduce the heavy traffic problem in the city; however, the project is now facing new challenges.
Pedana–Lakshmipuram Highway Expansion in Doubt
One more important petition under evaluation is the expansion of National Highway-216H along a length of 118-km from Pedana in Krishna district to Lakshmipuram on the Telangana border, passing through Gudivada, Nuzvid and Vissannapet. The DPR makes a rough estimate of total cost at ₹4,245 crore—four lanes from Pedana to Nuzvid and two lanes beyond with almost ₹2,000 crore budgeted for civil works and the rest for land acquisition and related costs.
Even though the DPR has recently been submitted to MoRTH, reportedly the officials in Delhi have raised doubts regarding the need of the expansion pointing to the construction of Amaravati Outer Ring Road. They suggested that only bypasses at Gudivada and Gudlavalleru be done instead of the whole stretch being widened. This position has caught the state officials off guard in view of the traffic demands cited in the DPR.
To sum up, the Andhra Pradesh officials are afraid that if the Centre does not change its mind, many major highway projects—considered vital for linking, pilgrim traffic and urban decongestion—would be left hanging indefinitely.
