Bhubaneswar, Sept 29: Travelling on National Highway-55 connecting Sambalpur with Cuttack via Angul has become a nightmare for commuters as 51-km stretch of the around 265 km long road has turned into a death trap with potholes and wide cracks.
The four-laning work of the NH is far away to be completed. Frequent accidents are occurring everyday on the road undergoing repairing work.
According to the data of the Odisha government, the four-laning work of the NH from Manguli Square in Cuttack to Sambalpur is going on three phases. The Cuttack-Angul section has been divided into two packages. The first package covers from Manguli to Jhargadia in Dhenkanal Sadar, a stretch of 60.2 km. The four-laning work of the stretch began on January 19, 2018 and should be completed by July 17, 2020 according to the agreement. However, only 75 percent work of this package has been completed so far with completion of four-laning of 49 km. The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has targeted to complete it by next March.
Similarly, the four-laning of the second package from Jhargadia to 112 km towards Angul, 52 km, was to be completed by September 7, 2020. However, only 37 km long has been completed which is aimed to be completed by next March.
The third package work, 153 km from Angul to Sambalpur, began on March 3, 2017 and was to be completed by September 29, 2019. However, only 128 km road has been transformed into four-lane. The next 28 km road is said to be completed by the end of 2023.
Out of the 265 km long road, the 51-km stretch of the three packages yet to be completed has turned into death traps for commuters with report of numerous accident deaths daily.
