New Indian road projects under construction

The authorities in India have revealed that a series of major road projects are commencing. Plans are in hand for the new Biju Expressway project, which is costing close to US$528 million. The project will deliver a new corridor between Rourkela and Jagdalpur, connecting the four Kalahandi-Balangir-Koraput districts of Nuapada, Kalahandi, Nawrangpur and Koraput with four districts of western Odisha; Sundergarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur and Bargarh. The first phase is for the upgrading of a 402km stretch of road to two-lanes and a 254km stretch of road to four-lanes. This work is due for completion by May 2017. Under the second phase, 258km of road will be converted to four-lanes and this is due for completion by the end of 2019. Once the work is complete, the journey from Jagdalpur to Rourkela will only take six hours, as compared to 13 hours at present.