Hyderabad: The Khammam-Devarapalli access-controlled Greenfield Highway (NH-365BG), the first such corridor connecting Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, was unofficially opened to motorists on Sunday, August 2, ahead of its formal inauguration that is expected within a week.
The stretch from Tallampadu village in Khammam district to Devarapalli in Andhra Pradesh has been thrown open, allowing vehicles to use the route before its official launch. Toll collection will begin only after the formal inauguration.
The opening comes after months of delay on account of the construction of railway overbridges (ROB) at Dhamsalapuram, even though the highway and most of its infrastructure had been completed nearly a year ago. With the ROBs now in place, motorists can access the highway from Tallampadu rather than being restricted to the Wayra-Devarapalli stretch through temporarily opened toll plazas.
“All the works have been completed and vehicles have been allowed to enter from the Tallampadu access point. The highway will be officially opened within a week, after which toll collection will begin,” National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) project officer K Divya told The New Indian Express. She added that load tests are currently underway to ensure the completed ROBs are safe for regular vehicular movement.
Hyderabad-Visakhapatnam time, distance saved
For commuters, the 162.04-km highway’s most significant benefit will be time. The corridor is expected to cut the Hyderabad-Visakhapatnam journey by about 60 km and reduce travel time by one to two hours.
It will also allow vehicles headed to Tiruvuru, Nuzvid, Rajamahendravaram, Visakhapatnam, Odisha and Kolkata to bypass Khammam city entirely. Vehicles travelling from Suryapet towards Khammam will enter the corridor through the Tallampadu toll plaza and exit at Devarapalli.
The highway has nine interchanges providing access to nearby towns and carries speed limits of 100 kmph for cars and 80 kmph for heavy vehicles. The toll system will operate on a distance-based model, similar to Hyderabad‘s Outer Ring Road (ORR).
Closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras have been installed at every kilometre along the corridor and truck lay-bys have been developed at Vandanam and Chowdavaram.
Of the 162.04-km total length, 105 km passes through Khammam district.
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