PWD invests Rs 1,100 cr to widen roads in Nagpur, Gondia and Bhandara

The Public Works Department (PWD) in Maharashtra has spent Rs 1,103 crore in the last two years concretizing or asphalting and widening a few inter-district roads in Nagpur, Bhandara, and Gondia districts. PWD is working on two major roads in the city.

According to data from the office of PWD superintending engineer Vidyadhar Sardeshmukh, over 95% of the work on six packages approved under the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) in these three districts has been completed. Minor work such as the construction of a footpath, a road divider, and markings is expected to be completed soon.

378.48 km of roads have been widened, concretized or asphalted under six packages 136.22 km in Nagpur, 130.36 km in Bhandara, and 111.9 km in Gondia.

In 2019, the PWD developed the HAM model for the first time to complete a large number of projects at the same time. Due to a limited budget, it used to only complete work on a few roads each year.

Private contractors receive 40% payment after project completion and the remaining 60% in equal instalments over 10 years under HAM. The project is expected to take one and a half years to complete.

The contractors will be responsible for maintaining the roads for 10 years. For the operation and maintenance of these six packages, the PWD will pay Rs 20.71 crore.

The road from Rani Jhansi Square to Vivekananda Memorial in North Ambazari, as well as the road from Ambazari T-point to Nagpur University Campus Square, have been widened and concretized where necessary. Both of these roads were in bad shape. The North Ambazari road has also been severely damaged, particularly following the completion of the Metro Rail corridor.

Between Ambazari T-point and Campus Square, minor works such as road dividers are currently underway.

In the districts of Bhandara and Gondia, there are large lakes, tiger reserves, religious sites, and water fountains, among other things. The roads that connect these locations have been widened and asphalted

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