Bhubaneswar ring road plan gets center’s nod; Dharmendra thanks Gadkari

Bhubaneswar: Union Petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan thanked Union Road Transport minister Nitin Gadkari for according in-principle approval for constructing a Ring Road around the capital city of Bhubaneswar.

“Presently, the feasibility study is underway. Once implemented, it will decongest the stretch of NH-5 that passes through the heart of the capital city and will provide necessary safety and comfort to the commuters, mostly residents of the capital city,” said Pradhan in a letter to Gadkari.

Informing that he had a discussion with various stakeholders on the matter, the minister said certain concerns have been expressed with regard to the present proposed alignment.

The proposed alignment which has been conceptualized will require heavy traffic to move on NH-42 for a length of 12.9 km before joining the ring road.

“This will result in heavy traffic congestion in and around Choudwar city and will prove it be a major bottleneck for the free flow of traffic. Accordingly, the National Highway authorities may be advised to take up the issue with the State PWD for necessary modification of the proposed alignment,” said the Petroleum minister.

The proposed ring road should terminate on NH-5 (beyond Manguli junction) instead of NH-42 which is being proposed at present. This will facilitate smooth movement of vehicular traffic on both the stretches of NH-42 and NH-5, he added.