SHILLONG, Feb 19: The four-lane stretch of the Shillong-Dawki road upgradation project has made some progress but the work is yet to gather pace.
The same was observed by a group of journalists on Saturday when they went out on a drive till Umtyngngar.
There is barely any work being undertaken in the defence areas, barring a few trees that are being felled. Serious traffic congestion was witnessed in the absence of traffic personnel.
The earth-cutting work for road expansion has been done at several stretches of the upper area but there are hardly any safety signs although hundreds of vehicles ply there every day.
The 71-km long National Highway 40 will be converted into a four-lane from Umshyrpi bridge in Shillong to Baniun at 7th Mile, Upper Shillong. Given traffic snarls, the government is facing pressure to complete the work on this stretch early.
The four-lane road, which falls under package 1 of the project, is an 11-km long stretch and the work is expected to be completed by December next year.
In package 2, there is hardly any work going on in any stretch till Umtyngngar. The work in package 2 is also expected to be completed by next year. The Rs 1,251-crore project, funded by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency, includes construction of a new bridge over the Umngot river at Dawki in West Jaintia Hills.
