Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu asked the NHAI to prepare the alignment of Amaravati Outer Ring Road by cutting the curve to minimum so that seven national highways connecting it without a cut. During a CRDA Authority meeting on Tuesday, the Chief Minister reviewed the proposed alignment along with officials from NHAI, the Roads and Buildings (R&B) Department, and CRDA. The proposed map was presented by the officials, and suggestions were made for improving the alignment.
The CRDA has issued a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the ORR alignment. In the case of receiving NOC by Roads and Buildings Department, the proposal will be sent to the NHAI and the Union Ministry of Surface Transport for approval. Once approval is received, the activities such as acquisition of land and construction will be initiated. Interestingly, the central government has agreed to bear all the costs to build 189 km ORR in Krishna and Guntur districts collectively.
The ORR will connect seven major national highways, namely:
In addition, a direct access-controlled greenfield highway from Kodikonda check post to Muppavaram in the Anantapur district will connect to the Amaravati ORR.
The current government has revised the alignment proposed between Anantapur and Amaravati, which is an expressway that existed during the TDP administration (2014-19). A new alignment favors Amaravati and would extend the road from the Kodikonda check post on the Karnataka border right up to Pulivendula in the YSR district and then connect with the Chennai-Kolkata National Highway at Muppavaram in the Bapatla district. The Chief Minister has also asked NHAI officials to take it up till the Amaravati ORR for better regional connectivity.
