Goa’s Road Infrastructure – CM Pramod Sawant: The robust road network across Goa, with bridges on various stretches, has significantly reduced the people’s travel time in the coastal state, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has said. The central government has sanctioned various infrastructural projects for the state with an estimated cost of Rs 25,000 crore, Sawant said.
A 279.38-km-long road infrastructure is in the process of being created in the state, which includes a 123.88-km stretch on Mumbai-Kanyakumari corridor that passes through Goa, he said. The state is also benefitting with a 67.92 km road which is part of Hyderabad-Panaji corridor, he said, adding that a 37.5-km-long road is also being constructed to connect the Mormugao Port and the industrial estate in South Goa.
Various other road infrastructure projects have also being taken up, with many of them already completed, the chief minister said. The construction of two parallel Zuari bridges, connecting North Goa to South Goa, has reduced the travel time between Margao and Panaji from 2 hours to just 30 minutes, he said.
The two Zuari bridges have been constructed with a cost of Rs 2,500 crore, while the Atal Setu has been constructed on the Mandovi river near Panaji with an approximate Rs 900 crore, Sawant said.
The Manohar International Airport in Goa is also connected to the National Highway 66 through a 6.58-km-long road, he said. The people of the state, who often travel along these roads, are the biggest beneficiaries.
Margao-based lawyer Vinay Patkar narrated how it has now become possible for him to attend court cases in his city and also in Panaji, located around 40 km away, on the same day due to the smooth road infrastructure.
It used to earlier take at least two hours during peak hours to reach Panaji from Margao, Patkar said, adding he would eventually end up reaching the court late.
“The travel time has become less now and we can reach within 30 minutes from Margao to Panaji, and further in another 20 minutes to Mapusa,” he said.
Goa’s tourist taxi business is another beneficiary, with the incidents of passengers missing their flights at the Dabolim airport in South Goa due to congestion on the Old Zuari Bridge becoming a thing of the past.
Vikrant Signapurkar, a tourist taxi driver, said passengers now enjoy the ride on the vast cable-stayed Zuari bridge and reaching the airport on time has become possible.
