4-wheelers to ply on National Highway-65 from April
The highway was closed to facilitate flyover works.
Vijayawada: Traffic congestion in Vijayawada is likely to ease this month end. The NH-65, on which the Kanakadurga flyover is being built, was blocked for the last two-and-a-half years and this would open for four-wheelers from the first week of April. A week ago, the national highway was opened for two-wheelers.
District collector B. Lakshmikantham said the NH-65 was closed for security reasons and also to complete the flyover works early. He further said the road would be opened by March end and that the flyover works will be completed within the deadline.
The 2.7-km flyover near the Kanakadurga temple was the first project for which foundation stone was laid immediately after laying the stone for the capital city of Amaravati. For various reasons like lack of workforce, material and machinery with the contractor and with the Union government not releasing funds as per the prorata, even when the state government has released its share, the project remained incomplete. In 2012, when N. Chandrababu Naidu was the Opposition leader, staged a demonstration seeking construction of the flyover. He ordered for its construction after coming to power in 2014.
On November 5, 2015, SOMA Company bagged the project works for Rs 447 crore. Earlier, the state government set a deadline to the contractor to complete the flyover before Krishna Pushkaram in 2016 but not even 20 per cent of the works have been completed by the deadline. Also, the financial instability of the contractor impeded the pace of construction and many deadlines have been crossed. The Chief Minister personally visited the construction site twice to expedite the works. However, only 60 per cent of the works have been completed. Though the pillars are laid, the linkage of spines and wings is yet to be completed.