970x125
The Union Cabinet Wednesday approved the construction of 86-km four-lane highway from Kaliabor to Numaligarh on NH-715 in Assam at a cost of Rs 6,957 crore. The stretch of the highway lies on the Guwahati-Dibrugarh Corridor, which runs along the Brahmaputra river and passes through Kaziranga National Park.
970x125
The project, which has been given a construction period of three years, will be developed in Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Mode. Some sections of the existing Kaliabor-Numaligarh section of NH-715 (old NH-37) is two-laned with some parts passing through Kaziranga National Park and densely built up areas of Jakhalabandha and Bokakhat.
Officials said that a total of 34-km structure will be elevated viaduct in Kaziranga National Park to allow passage of animals. This portion will be completely new four-lane construction and the rest of it will be widening from two-lane to four-lane.
On either side of this stretch, the four-laning of Guwahati to Kaliabor section of the corridor is complete, while Numaligarh to Dibrugarh section is likely to be completed by February 2026.
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) officials said that the section of the highway passing through Kaziranga National Park has been designed in consultation with the Union Environment Ministry, National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and Wildlife Institute of India (WII).
“The project will involve construction of an elevated corridor of about 34.5 km, covering entire cross movement of wildlife from Kaziranga National Park to Karbi-Anglong Hills for free and uninterrupted passage of wildlife along with upgradation of 30.22 km of existing road and construct a 21 km of greenfield bypasses around Jakhalabandha and Bokakhat. This will decongest the existing corridor, improve safety, and enhance the direct connectivity between Guwahati, Kaziranga National Park (tourism destination), and Numaligarh (an industrial town),” said the Ministry in a statement.
The project alignment also integrates with two major National Highways (NH-127, NH-129) and one state highway (SH-35) and is expected to improve the connectivity with upper Assam, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. It will also enhance the connectivity for traffic travelling from Guwahati to Numaligarh, Jorhat, Dibrugarh and Tinsukia, facilitated by the East-West Corridor and NH-127.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
970x125
