ANANTAPUR: The proposed six-lane express highway to connect state capital Amaravati to Rayalaseema region will be four-lane in the initial stage. The existing four-lane NH-44 would also be kept undisturbed. A Bengaluru-based agency is conducting a survey and preparing the detailed project report and the highway is said to be the third priority to the government after state capital Amaravati and Polavaram projects.
The survey is under process to estimate required land, including greenery development. Land would be simultaneously kept ready for railway line. The express highway is proposed at an estimated Rs 29,550 crore to cover 373 km from Anantapur. Though, the Centre accepted for connecting highway one-and-a-half years ago, survey process was delayed for a long period. With no proper connectivity to the new state capital from interior parts of Rayalaseema, the journey takes over 9 hours, even 11 hours, from border areas.
The existing distance from Anantapur to Amaravati will be reduced by over 100 km as it would be designed for a speed of 120-130 kmph with straight alignments, sources said. Straight alignments need road over bridges (RoBs) and tunnels at hilly terrains enroute to capital. More than seven RoBs and 33 main bridges are proposed in 371.03-km long distance of the express highway road.
The road has to pass through Nallamala forest and also other reserved forests like Muchukota in Anantapur district and 1,518 hectares of forest land is needed from all five districts. Forest officials said so far they did not get any proposal regarding the acquisition process. The total length of proposed expressway from Anantapur to Amara-vati is 371.03 km, Kurnool feeder connectivity is 123.70 km and Kadapa feeder connectivity is 104.05 km. In the total 598.78-km length expressway, the length of six-lane road between Anantapur and Amaravati will be about 193 km. As per the report, about 26,890 acres of land is required for the project. Revenue authorities are asked to complete it in six months.
