ANANTAPUR: Anantapur district headquarters will soon have a four-lane road including a road over-bridge at the clock tower junction. The widening process for connecting two national highways, by linking the main roads, will begin in a couple of months, urban MLA Ananta Venkatrami Reddy said.
The Union Government has sanctioned funds for connecting the two highways of Chennai and Hyderabad and tenders have been finalised. The work would start soon, the MLA said.
However, several multi-storied buildings with shopping complexes on the main road and circles of Anantapur will be affected due to the widening works for the formation of the NH four-lane road formation to connect the two major highway roads.
The heart of the town – along the Clock Tower Road, Subhash Road and Suryanagar Road – will have four-lane roads.
The National Highways Authority has sanctioned Rs 310 crore for work on connectivity between NH44 Road at Bellary Bypass and Chennai Highway Road at Pangal Road on the outskirts of Anantapur. The expansion would be of 9.2km in length and pass through the Collectorate Road, Suryanagar Road, Subhash Road and Clock Tower junction towards the Bellary Bypass Road. For the civil works, a sum of Rs 272 crore was allotted.
The tenders were finalised a week ago for the works which will be done by an Anantpur-based construction company that quoted 27 per cent less that what were quoted by eight other companies, informed sources said.
The existing road overbridge near the Clock Tower, which is presently of two lanes, would be demolished and a four- Lane road overbridge reconstructed following the heavy traffic. In addition, two bridges will be constructed across Pandameru and there will also be the widening of the bridge in the same route near Samatagram.
The National Highway authorities told DC that the process for agreements with the construction company would take at least two months. However, there will be no land acquisition along the main road. There may be acquisitions at main circles.
“Already, the road between Clock Tower and Suryanagar was of four lanes but encroachments had resulted in it becoming a road of two lanes with a few yards of footpath,” the sources said.
An official from the NH wing assessed that at least five metres of road widening is needed at a few locations where encroachments were more. Sources said the AMC mayor-owned shop at Sapthagiri circle is among several shops that will have to be cut in the road widening.
