Initiating the ambitious state government road project, of a “high-speed corridor” to connect Vadodara to the Statue of Unity in Ekta Nagar in Narmada district, BJP MLA from Dabhoi Shailesh Mehta on Saturday performed the ground-breaking ceremony of Phase 1 of the project to be built at an estimated cost of Rs 381.86 crore. A project of the Gujarat Roads and Buildings Department, the exercise is intended to be completed by May 30, before the upcoming monsoon, officials said. The project includes construction of four bridges and a six-laned road from the outskirts of Vadodara, the jurisdiction of the Vadodara Urban Development Authority (VUDA), towards Ekta Nagar (formerly Kevadia) via Dabhoi. The road project will include two six-lane underpass stretches at Ratanpur and Tuwavi as well as four-lane elevated corridors at Kelanpur and Sinor junction, in order to “boost tourism” by reducing the travel time to Ekta Nagar. The project work involves excavation for the construction of roadway, drains and waterways, dismantling and removing existing culverts, bridges, pavements, structures like guard-rails, fences, construction of embankments, and other works, as per R&B officials. Mehta said, “The project is the promise of the Gujarat government to develop the area. The project will not only reduce the travel time from Vadodara to Ekta Nagar significantly but also save fuel.” The project was approved by the state government in August last year.
