Odisha speeds up road and infrastructure projects focusing on highways, outer ring roads, and statewide connectivity to support regional growth and Viksit Odisha 2036 vision
OdishaPlus Bureau
The government of Odisha is intensifying its initiatives to accelerate road and infrastructure projects, in line with its ambitious objective of ‘Viksit Odisha for Viksit Bharat’ by the year 2036.
This involves the adoption of modern technologies and project management tools to hasten execution and ensure equitable regional development beyond just the major urban centers.
In a high-level review meeting held on Monday, Works Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan suggested the development of an outer ring road in Cuttack, inspired by the successful urban expansion strategy of Bhubaneswar. This initiative aims to alleviate the increasing traffic congestion in the Millennium City, support future growth, and enhance overall mobility. Officials have been assigned the task of preparing comprehensive plans for this and other strategies to relieve congestion in the city and improve traffic management.
Harichandan emphasized that robust statewide connectivity, linking rural and remote regions to urban centers, is essential for fair development.
The meeting also highlighted the need to upgrade the Cuttack–Sambalpur NH-55 to six lanes to enable smoother transportation of goods and people between coastal Odisha and the western areas, while also benefiting industrial, mining, and port-related regions.
The minister instructed that all national highways in the state be widened to a minimum of four lanes. He underscored the necessity to enhance state highways connecting various parts of Odisha into four-lane roads and directed officials to promptly commence survey work and submit detailed reports to the government.
The review also addressed several key arterial roads and corridors, including ongoing construction, widening efforts, and land acquisition issues in Bhubaneswar. These include the Jayadev Vihar–Nandankanan Road, the Left Parallel Road, and the Pathargadia–Daruthenga Road. Additionally, the proposed Kelucharan Park–Phulnakhara Road, the stretch from Palasuni to Garage Chhak, the Acharya Vihar–Kalinga Hospital Road, and the Kaimatia Chhak to Gothpatna road, along with connectivity projects such as Gohiria to Chhatabar via Madanpur, were also discussed.
The extensive highway expansion and bypass initiatives connecting Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, which encompass the Konark–Puri–Satapada route, a new configuration for the Pipili–Konark road, as well as the Cuttack–Kandarpur and Kandarpur–Balikuda segments, were assessed, in addition to the advancements on bypasses such as Jaipur and Balangir.