Soiru Velip
Panaji
The public works department (PWD) has said that work on the six-lane elevated highway project in Porvorim, which promises to reduce travelling time to Mopa airport, will commence by the end of this month.
The project is being funded by the Centre, which has allocated `641.4 crore for it.
Union Minister of Roads, Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari had laid the foundation stone for the project in December 2023, announcing that the work would start by the end of January 2024.
However, the new deadline announced by the PWD suggests that the start of the work has got delayed by three months.
The elevated road is expected to be 5.2 km long, with approaches beginning at Sangolda junction on one end and the Neo-Majestic hotel on the other.
The Porvorim stretch is yet to be widened as part of the Goa highway development project that also covers the road from Patradevi to Bambolim.
A senior PWD official said a contractor has been selected to carry out the work, which will start by the end of April.
The proposed work will continue during the monsoon. The government has notified alternate roads for vehicular traffic that will have to be used until the project is complete, the official said.
However, there is no clarity as to what kind of vehicles would be allowed through the village roads. Whether buses would be plying through these roads is also unclear. Some stretches are narrow and locals are anticipating traffic congestion. The authorities have not yet discussed the traffic plans, if any, with the local residents who say that they would be badly hit by the heavy movement through their village roads.
The successful bidder M/s Rajendra Singh Bhamboo Infra (RSBIPL) has already been taken onboard to begin the spadework. The contractor has already begun some groundwork in the Guirim fields, close to the Socorro-Sangold junction where the approach road to the flyover has been planned.
The PWD has cleared a significant number of encroachments along NH-66 to make the way for the project.
When completed in two years, the proposed elevated highway is expected to alleviate traffic congestion and smoothen the route to Manohar international airport in Mopa in Pernem taluka.
The project is part of the work carried out on the Karaswada-Bambolim portion of the highway to make it four/six lanes. The elevated expressway is expected to give an option to motorists to drive at 80-100 kmph as against the current 40-60 kmph.
The Porvorim flyover was planned to avoid demolition of some houses and other business structures if the 4/6 laning of the highway stretch was undertaken.