4-Lane Tiger Corridor to Be Developed in MP: Gadkari

Bhopal: Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari on Saturday announced that a four-lane Tiger Corridor connecting four major reserves in Madhya Pradesh will be developed at a cost of Rs 5,500 crore to give boost to tourism and economy in the state.

Inaugurating a flyover bridge, the longest in the state, in Jabalpur, Mr. Gadkari said the proposed Jabalpur-Bandhavgarh four-lane road will connect Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Panna and Pench tiger reserves in the state.

The cost of the Tiger Corridor project has been escalated from the initial estimation of Rs 4,600 crore to Rs 5,500 crore.

The Union minister along with Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav dedicated to the nation the longest flyover in the state featuring a single-span cable-stayed bridge in Jabalpur.

The seven-km-long flyover will cut the travel time between Madan Mahal and Damoh Naka from 40-45 minutes to just six-seven minutes, officials said.

Built at a cost of Rs 1,200 crore, the project marks a milestone in modern traffic management and development, they said.

A key feature of the flyover is a 192-meter single-span cable-stayed bridge built over a railway line. The corridor also includes three bow-string bridges, each 70-meter long and constructed entirely of steel.

For the first time in the country, a Central Road Fund (CRF) of Rs 1,200 crore has been sanctioned for the construction of the flyover, named as Rani Durgavati Flyover, in Jabalpur.

Mr. Gadkari said road projects worth Rs three lakh crore has been sanctioned for Madhya Pradesh, of which works worth Rs 75,000 crore have been completed and projects worth Rs 65,000 crore are currently in progress.

Projects worth Rs 1.5 lakh crore, covering nearly 2,500 km, are under preparation for DPR (Detail Project Report). Five greenfield economic corridors are being constructed in Madhya Pradesh at a cost of Rs 33,000 crore.