Page 3 - Road Construction

Road construction projects worth Rs 65,000 cr underway in Delhi: Gadkari

Work on projects worth Rs 65,000 crore is underway in Delhi and its nearby areas for the construction of roads, highways and expressways, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday. Work on an expressway connecting Delhi's Akshardham temple to Dehradun has started. Once it is completed, it will only take two hours to reach Dehradun from Delhi and one-and-a-half hours to reach Haridwar, the minister said in the Lok Sabha. "Rs 65,000-crore works are going on in Delhi and its adjoining areas. We have already constructed an expressway to Meerut. Works are also going on to connect Muzaffarnagar," he said. Gadkari said works to construct a peripheral road around Delhi are also going on.

Road projects likely to hit slow lane ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha elections

Bharatmala's cost has nearly doubled from Rs 5.35 trillion to Rs 10.6 trillion and the Finance Ministry has asked MoRTH to go slow until Cabinet approval is received

Tunnel collapse: Video by trapped workers from inside Silkyara surfaces

The video, accessed by ANI, was shot by one of the trapped workers before they were eventually rescued

Uttarkashi tunnel: Location for drilling identified to evacuate 41 trapped

Road work for vertical drilling on the hill above the tunnel is almost complete, says Anshu Manish Khulko, Director, NHIDCL

Jharkhand officials leave for U'khand to help in rescue of trapped workers

A three-member team of Jharkhand government officials have left for Uttarakhand to provide help in the rescue of workers who were trapped after a portion of an under-construction tunnel collapsed, an official said on Tuesday. Around 36 workers, including 10 from Jharkhand, were feared trapped after a portion of an under-construction tunnel between Silkyara and Dandalgaon in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand collapsed on Sunday morning. Three government officials, including JAP-IT (Jharkhand Agency for Promotion of Information Technology) CEO Bhuvnesh Pratap Singh, and joint labour commissioners Rajesh Prasad and Robert Lakra, left for Uttarakhand on Monday on the direction of Chief Minister Hemant Soren to provide immediate relief and help in the rescue of workers hailing from the eastern state, an official statement said. The chief minister has wished for the speedy recovery of all the workers trapped in the tunnel.

Govt aims to complete 85% of road projects on time this fiscal: Anurag Jain

Around 85 per cent of road projects are likely to be completed by the end of this fiscal, as the steps taken by the government to ensure faster clearances like monitoring and quicker resolution of issues have started showing results, Road Transport and Highways secretary Anurag Jain said on Wednesday. Jain said, the Road ministry is getting environment and forest clearance quickly and monitoring mechanisms of delayed projects have been improved. "We took up completion of projects on time as a challenge, and in cases where the project is already delayed, a revised schedule was taken as the target. I have a feeling that by the end of this financial year (March), we will complete about 85 per cent of projects on time," he told PTI in an interview. Jain further noted that "PRAGATI meeting by the Prime Minister, monitoring by Cabinet Secretariat, creation of Integrated Project Monitoring portal, use of PM GatiShakti in planning have considerably improved the pace of implementation of the

Govt working on policy to make NHs pothole free by year end: Nitin Gadkari

The government is working on a policy to ensure that there are no potholes on national highways by year-end and construction of roads on Built-Operate-Transfer (BOT) mode is being preferred as such projects are maintained in a better manner, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday. With an aim to make the national highways free of potholes by the end of December this year, the Road Transport and Highways Ministry is firming up performance-based maintenance and short-term maintenance contracts. Generally, road construction is done through three modes -- BOT, Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC), and Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM). "The roads which are constructed under the EPC mode require maintenance quite early whereas under the BOT mode, roads are better constructed as the contractor knows that he will have to bear the cost of maintenance for the next 15-20 years. "That is why we have decided for construction of roads under the BOT mode in a big way," the Road Transp

G20: India-Middle East-Europe mega connectivity corridor deal announced

A connectivity corridor through India, the Middle East and Europe will soon be launched, sources said on Saturday. They said it will be a historic and first of its kind initiative for cooperation on connectivity and infrastructure involving India, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, the Europian Union, France, Italy, Germany and the US. The development comes amid the ongoing G20 summit which, in a major diplomatic breakthrough for India, agreed on a join declaration.

13,065 km of state roads, highways upgraded to NHs, shows MoRTH data

Andhra Pradesh has experienced one of the highest rates of conversion of its roads into national highways

Rajasthan govt plans to allocate Rs 5,200 cr to strengthen road network

The chief minister said that due to the extensive investment opportunities within the state, the government is committed to developing high-quality roads

Huge challenge upon us, need year to rebuild infrastructure: CM Sukhu

Himachal Pradesh will take a year to rebuild the infrastructure wrecked by the heavy rains this monsoon but the state is up to themountain-like challenge, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Wednesday. In an interview with PTI, he said the estimated damage in the two devastating spells of heavy rain this week and in July is about Rs 10,000 crore. Rains this week triggered landslides across the state, blocking roads and bringing down houses. About 60 people are dead, and more feared buried under the rubble. The chief minister said it takes time to rebuild roads and water projects. But the government is speeding up the process. We have to get the infrastructure fully restored within a year. I am working with this in mind. It's a big challenge, a mountain-like challenge. But we are not going to back away, he said. The state government will continue with its vision to make Himachal Pradesh self-reliant in four years and the country's most prosperous state in 10 years.But

Govt saved 12% cost in awarding Dwarka Experssway project: Report

The government saved over 12 per cent in construction cost against estimates in awarding contracts of Urban Extension Road-II or Dwarka Expressway, and CAG findings that the cost was exorbitant are misplaced as the auditor did not factor in the actual cost, top sources in the road transport ministry said. According to reports, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had found that the National Highways Authority of India's (NHAI) decision to go for an elevated carriageway on the Haryana portion of the Dwarka Expressway pushed up the construction cost to Rs 251 crore per kilometre from Rs 18.2 crore per km estimated earlier. The audit report on the implementation of Phase-I of the 'Bharatmala Pariyojana' highway projects, triggered a political row with the opposition parties alleging corruption in the process of awarding the project. The ministry sources explained that all four packages of Dwarka Expressway were put for tender at an average civil cost of Rs 206.39 crore per kilomet

17 dead as crane falls on bridge at Samruddhi Expressway construction site

Seventeen workers were killed and three injured as a crane fell on a bridge slab during construction of the third phase of Samruddhi Expressway in Maharashtra's Thane district on Tuesday, an official said. A few persons are still feared trapped and efforts are on to rescue them, an NDRF official said. Three persons were injured in the incident and they were being treated at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital at Kalva in Thane, he said. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in a tweet said he has ordered a probe into the incident by experts. He expressed grief over the death of workers in the accident. It was a special-purpose mobile gantry crane used in bridge construction and to install precast box girders in highway construction projects. The accident took place shortly after midnight on Tuesday near Sarlambe village in Shahapur tehsil, around 80 km from Mumbai, the official said. The Samruddhi Mahamarg, named Hindu Hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra

Shimla's ex-Dy Mayor files FIR against NHAI, road building company GR Infra

A case has been registered for unscientific construction and violating the norms to build the road which caused landslides, flood and killed so many people during the heavy rains in the state

Compromise on road quality under PMGSY completely unacceptable: Parl panel

Flagging "poor quality" of many roads built under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, a parliamentary panel has said that such compromise was "completely unacceptable" and suggested that the thickness of roads under the scheme be increased from existing 20 mm to 30 mm. In its report tabled in Lok Sabha on Thursday, the Department Related Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj also stressed on the need for better centre-state cooperation to properly implement the scheme. The panel, which is headed by DMK MP Kanimozhi, stated that it is "constrained to note that the quality of road construction under PMGSY (Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana) is an important issue affecting the entire country". "This glaring issue which casts aspersions on the marquee scheme of the central government has wider ramification on the hopes of rural populace of the country," the committee said. It also said the compromise in the quality of construction of roads was completely unaccepta

Govt constructing expressways with investment of Rs 4.5 trn: Gadakri

The government is constructing several greenfield expressway projects totalling 10,000 km across the country at a cost of Rs 4.5 lakh crore, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said Monday. The road, transport and highways minister said the road network is being set up under the Bharatmala Pariyojana. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has generated more than Rs 70,000 crore through various models of financing and the amount will be utilsed to build highway projects, he noted. "The government has conceptualized Bharatmala Pariyojna of 65,000 km of highway development across the country. The phase 1 road network is of 34,800 km... We are constructing 10,000 km of greenfield expressways at a cost of Rs 4.5 lakh crore," he said addressing an event on 'Management Development Program on Infrastructure Financing' organised by IIM Kozhikode. According to the minister, India's total National Highway (NH) network has increased from 91,000 km in 2014 to nearly 1.45 lakh km at ...

Road network grows 59% in 9 yrs to become second largest in world: Gadkari

India's road network grew 59 per cent to become the second largest in the world as part of the development work carried out by the government in the last nine years, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Tuesday. India's road network stood at 1,45,240 km today compared to 91,287 km in 2013-14, the Road, Transport and Highways Minister said. He was addressing a conference on '9 years achievements of government' in the national capital. In the last nine years, India made seven world records in the sector. India's road network is the second largest in the world after the US, he said. The minister further informed that the revenues from tolls rose to Rs 4,1342 crore from Rs 4,770 crore in 2013-14. The government aims to increase the toll revenue to Rs 1,30,000 crore by 2020, Gadkari said. The usage of fastags has helped in reducing the waiting time at the toll plazas to 47 seconds. The government is taking various measures to reduce it further to below 30 seconds, he noted.

Nitin Gadkari to inaugurate 11 flyovers on 8-lane NH from Delhi to Panipat

Nitin Gadkari will inaugurate 11 flyovers on eight-lane national highway from Delhi to Panipat on Tuesday, Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala said on Tuesday

Solve road, housing-related problems promptly: Smriti Irani to officials

During a visit to Deeh block here, Union Minister Smriti Irani on Tuesday directed officials to solve problems related roads and housing promptly. Irani held a 'chaupal' at Tekari Dandu Upper Primary School in Deeh block, which is part of the Salon Assembly constituency in Rae Bareli district. Irani is the MLA from Amethi and Salon is one of its Assembly segment. Several people apprised Irani with their problems and the minister directed officers to resolve them at the earliest. Later, the Amethi MLA reached the Deeh Gram Panchayat and Parsh adepur. During an interaction with people, several women of the town complained of lack of houses. Villagers from Chhatoh complained about not getting benefits of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana to which Irani said that officers will resolve their problems by organising camps in the village.

Poor DPRs by companies causing project delays, accidents: Nitin Gadkari

Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday expressed concern over the poor quality of detailed project reports (DPRs) prepared by Indian companies, saying these below-standard reports cause project delays and road accidents. Addressing an event organised by industry body FICCI, Gadkari further said major cost escalation happens in the construction of highways and other roads due to delays in decision making. "Sabse jyada culprit koi hai toh DPR banane wala (The biggest culprit is the entity which makes DPR). DPR quality is a big issue," he said, adding that the preference should be given to international companies as such reports made by Indian companies are not good. The road transport and highways minister, who is known for his frank views, blames the poor quality of DPRs for some of the road accidents. Gadkari said contractors should discourage the use of diesel machines.