Nitin Gadkari announces new Mumbai-Goa highway along sea

Nitin Gadkari announces new Mumbai-Goa highway along sea PANAJI: Union minister for road transport, highways and shipping Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said he has asked his ministry to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for the construction of a new Mumbai-Goa national highway along the sea to boost tourism.Gadkari also announced the construction of an eight kilometre connecting road

from NH-17 to the greenfield international airport at Mopa. "The connecting concrete road to Mopa airport will be constructed at a cost of Rs300 crore," he added. The Union minister was speaking after laying the foundation stone for the four-laning of National Highway (NH)-17, from Patradevi in Pernem to Bambolim. "For the new 330-km national highway we have sanctioned Rs3,300 crore and some of the work has been already started," he said, and added that in 2014 the national highway in the state was around 260km long which, after the BJP government came to power at the Centre, has gone up to 600km, including the new 330km national highway.

"We has tried to save the maximum number of houses during road widening by proposing elevated roads," the minister said and added that for the next 200 years these roads will not see potholes as they have been constructed on international standards.

Addressing the audience at the function at Kala Academy, Gadkari said he was inspired to develop the Mumbai-Goa national highway for tourism purpose after a 12-hour road journey he undertook from San Francisco to Los Angeles. "After returning from America I have asked one international agency to prepare a DPR for the construction of a new road along the sea," he added.The project cost for the first two phases is estimated to cost Rs2,237 crore. In the first phase, work will be taken up from Patradevi to Karaswado at the cost of Rs935. In the second phase, work will be taken up from Karaswado to Bambolim at the cost of Rs1,302 crore.

The entire stretch will have 15 vehicular underpasses, an elevated corridor, four flyovers and a vehicular overpasses, of which nine vehicular underpasses will come up at Naibagh, Pernem, Dhargal, central jail, Bastora junction, Durgawadi, Patradevi and Torxem, four flyovers at Mopa airport junction, Colvale, Karaswado junction and near Greenpark hotel, Mapusa, one elevated corridor at Porvorim and one vehicular overpass at Bambolim.

The tender for the first two phases for the four-laning for NH-17 will be issue this week, while tenders for the remaining two phases, which are to be taken up in South Goa, will be issued in the next three months, Gadkari said and added that the central government will spend around Rs15,000 crore by 2018 on widening roads in the state.

Gadkari also announced roadside amenities along the four-laned NH-17, including helipads, restaurants, petrol pumps, hotels, etc, and asked the state government land for setting up of the same.

Chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar requested Gadkari to tender the work of the third and fourth phase from Zuari to Pollem, immediately. Defence minister Manohar Parrikar, deputy chief minister Francis D'Souza, Speaker Anant Shet were among those present at the function.