Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on January 23, 2023, inaugurated 18 national highway projects worth Rs 6,800 crore in Orchha, Madhya Pradesh. These highways, which would run a total length of 550 km, will improve connectivity to the tourist places in Madhya Pradesh, including Orchha, Khajuraho, Panna, Chitrakoot, Tikamgarh and Sanchi.
Among the projects inaugurated on January 23 are a 665-metre bridge on the Betwa. Built at a cost of Rs 25 crore, the 2-lane bridge and footpath would provide connectivity to Orchha, Jhansi and Tikamgarh. The minister said that the construction of Powai, Orchha, Harpalpur, Kaithi Padhariya Kala, Patna Tamauli, Jasso, Nagaud and Sagar link road bypasses would reduce the traffic pressure in the city, adding that construction of flyovers in Sagar, Chhatarpur and Gadhakota will solve the problem of traffic jams.
The Bhopal-Kanpur Economic Corridor will make transport of cement and minerals easier and reduce logistic cost, said Gadkari. The Sagar Greenfield Link Road will reduce the distance from Bhopal to Kanpur by 21 km, he added. Construction of a 2-lane road with paved shoulders from Tikamgarh to Orchha will ease traffic movement, he further added.
During the occasion, Gadkari also announced the construction of a 105-km, 4-lane road project from Bamitha to Satna at a cost of Rs 2,000 crore. With the construction of this road, tourism in Tikamgarh, Panna, Chhatarpur, Khajuraho and the Bandhavgarh National Park will get a boost, the minister said.