Foundation stone laid for ₹147.36-crore Gaddipadu ROB in Guntur

Union Minister of State for Rural Development and Communications Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar and Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti and Railways V. Somanna laid the foundation stone for the Gaddipadu Railway Overbridge (ROB) at Inner Ring Road Junction here on Saturday.

The ROB, corresponding to Level Crossing No. 3, is being constructed at an estimated cost of ₹147.36 crore with the support of the Centre and the Railway Ministry.

Speaking at a public meeting after the foundation-laying ceremony, Dr. Chandra Sekhar said eight ROBs had been sanctioned for Guntur district with an estimated central allocation of about ₹750 crore. The Gaddipadu level crossing was used by around 20,000 vehicles and crossed by 78 trains every day, causing frequent disruptions to road traffic whenever the railway gate was closed, he said.

He said the Nandivelugu ROB would be opened around Deepavali and the Shankar Vilas bridge would be inaugurated next year. The Nehru Nagar ROB, sanctioned in 2018, had failed to make progress earlier and was revived after the coalition government assumed office, he said.

Mr. Somanna said the Centre had released ₹68,000 crore for 38 railway projects in Andhra Pradesh. Efforts were under way to achieve 100% railway electrification and develop 78 railway stations in the State, he said. Work on the Tenali Amrit Bharat railway station had reached 78% completion, he added.

He attributed the sanction of eight ROBs for Guntur to the efforts of Dr. Chandra Sekhar.

MLAs Galla Madhavi, Dhulipalla Narendra Kumar, B. Ramanjaneyulu and Tenali Sravan Kumar, Rajya Sabha member Bhashyam Ramakrishna, South Central Railway General Manager Sandeep Mathur and DRM Sudheshna Sen, among others, attended the programme.