Ahmedabad-Mehsana highway to be made eight-lane

Ahmedabad, Jan 28 (PTI) The Gujarat cabinet on Wednesday approved two major road projects costing about Rs 5,230 crore, including a highway connecting Ahmedabad and Mehsana and linking areas in the state’s tribal areas with roads.

Eight-laning a 51-km highway connecting Ahmedabad and Mehsana in north Gujarat will cost Rs 2,630 crore, and it was approved at the cabinet meet chaired by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, government spokesperson and minister Jitu Vaghani said.

Another project cleared by the cabinet involves the construction of 2,020 km of roads connecting 1,614 areas in tribal areas at Rs 2,600 crore, under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, he said.

Vaghani said 51.6 km of road between Ahmedabad and Mehsana, which was made four-lane

in 1999, will be upgraded to eight lanes for Rs 2,630 crore, with service facilities provided on both sides along the entire length of the road.

According to the latest traffic survey, more than 1 lakh vehicles ply on the road daily, he said.

Under the project, while the main road will be converted into an eight-lane carriageway, 7-metre service roads will be constructed on both sides to resolve traffic problems, he told reporters.

As part of the same project, a 6-km-long elevated corridor connecting five overbridges will be constructed in Kalol city of Gandhinagar district, he said.

Another decision taken at the cabinet meeting involved the development of tribal areas, he said.

As many as 1,614 hamlets in tribal pockets of the state will be connected for the first time with paved roads, he said.

Of the 4,781 pockets in the tribal areas, 1,614 have been selected in the first phase. These roads will benefit more than eight lakh people living across 1,699 settlements in the tribal areas, he added. PTI KA PD NR