UP: 43 district roads to be upgraded as highways

LUCKNOW: In a move aimed at providing better road connectivity in the state, the public works department (PWD) has decided to convert 43 district roads into state highways. According to a proposal moved by the PWD, the conversion would be done across the state.
Principal secretary, PWD, Nitin Ramesh Gokarn said that district roads with more thoroughfares would be converted into state highways and widened to ease traffic. Some other district roads are also proposed to be taken up for being converted into main district roads.
“This is happening after a gap of 10 to 12 years. There hasn’t been conversion of district roads into state highways, many of which were converted into national highways and handed over to National Highways Authority of India,” he said.
The state has around 11,000km of national highways. Gokarn said that district roads would be widened after considering their per capita utility.
Some prominent district roads which have been converted into state highways include Moradabad-Bulandshahr road, Sujanganj to Sultanpur road in Jaunpur, Durgaganj to Mirzapur and Kalbari Robertsganj to Khalkihari road.
The decision, PWD sources said, was taken after a high-level meeting convened by deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya to review the status of district roads and how they should be upgraded.
Gokarn said that pressure on main district roads has been continuously mounting, invoking the need to elevate their status. This, he said, would also increase the maintenance standards required for the upkeep of roads.