Work on the ambitious Kanpur Outer Ring Road scheme to decongest the city and connect the national highways passing through it has picked up pace.
In package one, the construction work between Sachendi to Mandhana may start from June next year.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has invited bids for 23.32-km-long Sachendi – Mandhana Road around Kanpur District in the state of Uttar Pradesh on an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) mode.
On Drawing Board Since 2014
The city has been witnessing long traffic snarls which has been become worse due to the entry of heavy vehicles in the city.
In particular, a large part of the GT Road passes through the middle of the urban population. Because of this, traffic crawls throughout the day.
For a permanent solution to this problem, the plan of Outer Ring Road was prepared in the year 2014.
The initial action plan of 93-km continued to gather dust, until 2020, when the NHAI conducted a pre-feasibility survey and commissioned a DPR for the project.
Plan
The 6-Lane Kanpur Ring Road is located around the Kanpur city.
It starts from NH-19 near Sachendi village and ends at same point i.e., NH-19 near Sachendi village in Kanpur Nagar district in the State of Uttar Pradesh.
The 93.21-km-long greenfield highway passes through three districts of the state, namely, Kanpur Nagar (62 km), Unnao (27km) and Kanpur Dehat (04 Km).
The project shall be further connected to the major highways connecting the city.
These include NH 19 from Delhi to Kolkata via Kanpur and Varanasi; NH 34 from Gangotri to Lakhnadon via Haridwar, Kanpur and Jabalpur and NH 27 from Porbandar to Silchar.
The State Highway 58 (SH58) which connects Kanpur and Unnao will also be connected to the ring road.
Project Divided In Four Packages
According to NHAI, efforts will be made to make the scheme a reality by 2025.
In this scheme of four packages, work will start from Mandhana to Sachendi next year, and the tenders for the second package between Sachendi to Ramaipur-Ruma is also expected soon.
The tender process for the third and fourth packages will be started in the new year.
The first package will be built at a cost of Rs 846.33 crores in two and a half years. The concessionaire for the first package shall maintain the stretch for five years.
Rs 10,000 Crore Project Cost
The project is being developed under National Highways Development Project (NHDP) Phase-VII.
Under NHDP Phase VII, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved for 700 km of Ring Roads, Bypasses and flyovers and selected stretches at an estimated cost of Rs. 16680 crores.
An estimated Rs 10,000 crore shall be spent on constructing this ring road. This includes Rs 6600 crore on construction and Rs 3400 crore on land acquisition.
Smart Traffic for Smart City
Kanpur, one of the industrial capitals of India, once boasted of being the Manchester of the Eastern world. The city is a major hub for the leather and textile industries.
The city development is being envisaged as a leather industry hub, tourism hub and a sustainable Smart City.
To meet the growing demand of road infrastructure, the ring road is essential for improving faster and economical transportation facilities.