SHILLONG, March 20: Commuters may feel relieved that the blacktopping of the road from Itshyrwat to Diengpasoh will be completed in the next 20-25 days.
They had complained about dusty and bumpy ride on the stretch ever since the upgradation work started two months ago.
Many residents had also complained about the dust generated from the road. Although the contractor is sprinkling water, it has not solved the problem due to vehicular movement. The road, which will connect Shillong with the New Shillong Township, is used by hundreds of patients every day to go to NEIGRIHMS.
A government official said the single lane road has to be converted into a double lane road under the Meghalaya Integrated Transport Project (MITP).
According to the detailed project report, it was to be constructed till Diengpasoh along the Shillong Bypass but there already exists a 5-km PMGSY road and scrapping it is not feasible due to technical issues.
“The double lane work will terminate 5 km short of Diengpasoh road. We will expand the remaining PMGSY road later with some other schemes,” the official said.
The width of the existing road is 3.75 metres and after expansion, it will be 7 metres, the official added.
The contractor has committed that the blacktopping work will be completed within the next 20-25 days, the official said, adding it will take around another 6 months to complete the road as there are many components including drainage, marking and signage.
Under MITP, a total of 11 km of road has been taken up while the length of the last PMGSY road is 4.5 km. The entire project is being implemented at a cost of Rs 34.9 crore.er