‘Alignment to ensure safety of Umiam dam and bridge’
Shillong, Jan 18: The alignment for construction of the proposed four-lane road from Umiam to Shillong will be finalised soon, said deputy chief minister Prestone Tynsong, in-charge of PWD (Roads & Building), after a review meeting on the project here on Friday.
After a threadbare discussion, it was decided that chief engineer of NH Roads will hold further sittings with consultants appointed by the National Highways Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL) in the coming days, the deputy CM said.
“They will sit down and finalise the best alignment for the proposed project,” Tynsong said, adding that the alignment is crucial as it has to ensure safety of the Umiam and dam and the road bridge above the dam.
The power department and the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL) have already imposed a load restriction on vehicles plying the bridge, which underwent a major repair that last year.
“We already discussed about this and very soon we will be able to decide the alignment and once the alignment is decided, the detailed project report (DPR) will also be prepared immediately,” Tynsong further informed.
“This (alignment) will be decided by technical experts along with consultants and once they prepared it, the government will approve the proposal. Consultants will hold discussions with PWD technical experts in the coming days,” he said.
Asked if the government had any plan to upgrade the four-lane Jorabat-Shillong road to a six-lane road, the deputy CM said although there was such an “intention” (of Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways), he had learnt that a six-lane road will be first constructed from Jorabat to Nagoan in Assam.
On the Sohra-Shillong road, Tynsong informed that the government is contemplating to convert it into a double lane road.
“We want to convert the road from Umtyngar to beyond Sohra into a double lane road. That has been included in the World Bank project,” he said.
