Govt plans to invest Rs 4,000 cr in road projects in Tripura

The government plans to pump in around Rs 4,000 crore in road projects in Tripura through PWD and the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL).
The state has 853 km of national highways, of which 731 km are with the state PWD and 122 km with NHIDCL, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways said in a statement.
Four projects are currently on in the state, with a total length of 147 km and total project cost of Rs 1,162 crore.
One project with a length of 24 km and total project cost of Rs 42 crore is likely to be awarded in next three months, and another three projects with a length of 110 km and cost of Rs 470 crore are under DPR and various stages of award. These are likely to be awarded in the next one year, it added.

Under the Central Road Fund (CRF), Rs 20.42 crore have been allocated to the state during 2016-17. Twelve projects amounting to Rs 57 crore have been sanctioned under the scheme. Four new National Highways have been declared in the state with a length of 388 km, it said.
Some of the important projects include Agartala - Khowai, which is a new highway with a length of 55 km.

The ongoing projects include Agartala-Udaipur which has 48 km with a cost of Rs 369 crore, being implemented by NHIDCL and due for completion in 2018 and Udaipur-Subroom highway which has a length of 74 km and project cost of Rs 498 crore and is due for completion in 2018.

The road connectivity to Tripura has been adversely affected due to the bad condition of about 7 km of NH-44 between Lowairpoa to Churaibari , but major efforts are being taken to restore the highway.
Joint Secretary and Chief Engineer level officers have visited the site. Measures like bamboo piling followed by sand blanket layering, filling up of potholes with stone, metal and granular material were taken to stabilise the roads.
Innovative technology geo-textile and Geo-Grid and soil stabilisation are being used. IIT Guwahati has been requested to find long term solutions to the perennial problem.
Similarly, restoration work on alternative road from Chandkhira to Kurti bridge (NH-208A) in Assam has also been taken up by the PWD.

Road construction and maintenance in the North Eastern states, as also in other hilly regions is fraught with difficulty. Slope and soil stabilisation are major concerns here, especially due to the heavy rainfall.
It is very difficult to proceed with construction work during the rainy seasons as the area becomes slushy due to water logging.