If you're a frequent visitor to Jamshedpur, here's some good news. You could soon vroom to the Steel City without worrying about traffic snarls, potholes and other hurdles along the way.
The state government has decided to upgrade National Highway 6 (better known as Bombay Road) into a four-lane fast track. The state and central governments are about to begin the feasibility study of the project estimated to be Rs 2,000 crore.
"The stretch of NH 6 between Dunkuni and Kharagpur is already four-lane as part of the Golden Quadrilateral. Now the entire stretch up to Jamshedpur will become fourlane," P K Deb, engineer-inchief, public works department (PWD) said on Monday.
The state government has long been campaigning for this upgrade -- ever since the first phase of the National Highway Development Programme (NHDP) was completed in December 2006. Prolonged traffic snarls along the stretch has been a major reason for the demand. But the Union ministry for road transport and highways, when it sanctioned the upgrade of all 5,846-km of highways under the GQ, said it would need time to give the go-ahead for Bombay Road.
"Finally, the Jharkhand government joined in the campaign, and the ministry of road transport and highways and decided to say yes to the proposal," said a senior PWD official, adding, "When the upgrade is done, Bombay Road will share the glory as part of the GQ." Jharkhand government is desperate for the upgrade because it wanted to make use of the hi-tech roadways for enhanced access to Haldia. "The Jharkhand government wants to get a more direct industrial access to Haldia and this upgraded road will go a long way in creating a direct link," said Deb.
