Bhubaneswar: Road connectivity between the state’s east and west and north and south are set for a major upgrade with three mega projects announced in the state budget on Friday. Along with the coastal highway, Bhubaneswar bypass and ongoing rail projects like the Khurda Road-Balangir new line, the state’s connectivity map is headed for an overhaul.The projects announced in the budget are the 287km-long Berhampur-Jeypore road at a cost of Rs 9,000 crore, NaMo Expressway from Paralakhemundi to Ambabhona, and the 969-km Atal Expressway from Motu to Tiringi. “We will build world class infrastructure for our future generation,” said chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi in his budget speech.The first project will connect the southern town of Jeypore in Koraput district with the coastal city of Berhampur in Ganjam. The budget proposal stated that the 400-km NaMo Expressway will connect Paralakhemundi in Gajapati district to Ambabhona in Bargarh district as part of the East-West Corridor, at an estimated cost of around Rs 7,000 crore.The Atal Expressway will connect nine districts between Motu in Malkanagiri district and Tiringi in Mayurbhanj district as part of the North-South Corridor. The estimated cost of the project is around Rs 15,000 crore, official sources said. In Odisha, more than 50 national highway projects are underway at an investment of over Rs 21,000 crore. Besides, the Union Budget this year sanctioned new roads and improvements to national highways of about 400 km in the state, at an estimated cost of over Rs 15,000 crore. The proposed six-lane access-controlled greenfield Capital Region Ring Road, also known as the Bhubaneswar Bypass, starting from Rameswar (NH-16) in Khurda district to Tangi in Cuttack (110.8km-long), will connect rural and urban centres of Khurda, Dhenkanal and Cuttack districts. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 8,307 crore. It will be built in three packages: Rameswar to Bilipada (40.2 km), Bilipada to Gobindpur (30.3 km) and Gobindpur to Tangi (40.3 km). For upgrade of state highways and major district roads to standard specifications, construction of major bridges, and smooth traffic flow in urban areas, state govt proposed an amount of Rs 7,500 crore under the Road Development Programme. The Union Budget announced several Odisha-specific initiatives, with a record Rs 10,928 crore allocation for railway projects to strengthen connectivity, support ongoing infrastructure works, and boost industrial growth. The East-West freight corridor passing through the state will improve logistics and link industrial clusters with major markets. Railway works worth over Rs 90,659 crore are currently in progress in the state.The Khurda Road-Balangir new line, one of the 40 projects underway, will bridge the east-west divide once it is commissioned by end of this year.
