Nalgonda, February 18: Union Minister Kamalnath and Chief Minister K Roshaiah will lay the foundation stone for the expansion of NH-9 soon, according to officials.
The widening of the 180- km stretch from Dandu Malkapuram to Nandigama between Hyderabad and Vijayawada has been pending since long.
As part of the widening, several trees are being felled along the highway while many venerable old trees are being transplanted.
The old trees beside the highway are being removed along with roots and being transplanted at convenient places nearby after giving a chemical treatment to the roots. This is being done after environmentalists expressed fear that such huge trees cannot be grown in the near future.
The chemical process was adopted following success in several other cases including the Outer Ring Road in Hyderabad.
The heavy rush on the route has been resulting in many mishaps. Occurrence of one or two mishaps is reported every day. In 2008, there were 708 accidents on this road claiming the lives of 226 people. The number of accidents reduced to 646 in the next year but the number of deaths rose to 239. More than 50 mishaps claiming 19 lives were reported in January, 2010.
According to the officials, the Rs 1,504-crore expansion works have been given to two firms — GMR Corporation and Pajuloid. The companies will complete their assignment within two-and-a-half years. Of the 180 km road to be widened, 160 km is in Nalgonda district.
–Agencies