Union Minister Jitendra Singh today inaugurated the strategically important 'Jodh' bridge on the Akhnoor Pallanwala road which was constructed at a cost of about Rs 30 crore.
The construction work on the 453 meter bridge with 15 spans of 30.2 meter each was started in March 2011 and even though the scheduled deadline for completion of construction was March 2016, the Border Road Task Force (BRTF), which undertook the work, succeeded in accomplishing it in advance by about six months.
Speaking on the occasion, Singh said that the completion of the construction work before time was possible because of added impetus given to the development and construction works in Jammu and Kashmir during the last 18 months since the present government took over at the Centre under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"An amount of Rs 4,000 crore was announced last year by the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari for construction of bridges and roads in J&K and since then, many more sanctions have been made from the Centre to expedite the work on roads and bridges from Central Road Funds (CRF)", he said.
Singh referred to some of the prestigious Centrally supported new construction projects in the offing which include the country's longest Express Corridor connecting Katra to Delhi via Amritsar.
He said that while the construction cost of the corridor per se would be around Rs 15,000 crore when taken into account the cost of the land to be acquired for the purpose the total cost may even go up to Rs 50,000 crore.
The greatest distinction of this corridor would be that it would be 600 kms long but may reduce the total travel time between Katra and Delhi to just about 5 to 6 hours, he said.
Singh said that the widening of the National Highway in Jammu-Udhampur-Banihal sector is moving ahead on fast track, and the work on the roads falling under PMGSY has also been pushed ahead on fast track.
Singh said that the Modi government was resolved to carry forward the development and construction agenda in Jammu and Kashmir on a fast track, for which the Prime Minister has been himself taking a personal interest.
"The forthcoming visit of Prime Minister to the State on Nov 7 is also a testimony to the high priority attached by Narendra Modi to the development of the State", he said.
