NTR and Krishna District Collectors G. Lakshmisha and D.K. Balaji felt changes are needed in the proposals for expansion of NH-65 from Vijayawada to Machilipatnam into six lanes.
A meeting was held to discuss the NH expansion proposals at the District Collectorate in Vijayawada on Wednesday. The two District Collectors, MLAs from both the districts, officials from National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and Metro Rail authorities participated in the discussion.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Lakshmisha directed officials to prepare three design models for the expansion of NH-65 in coordination with metro authorities. He pointed out that the current design does not address the traffic issues between Benz Circle and China Ogirala. He also mentioned that the number of proposed vehicle underpasses (VUPs) is insufficient and called for a study on the possibility of increasing them.
Mr. Balaji said an elevated corridor would be the best solution to resolve traffic problems. He noted that traffic from the suburban areas of Vijayawada is increasing and that congestion will worsen once port traffic is added.
MLAs Gadde Ramamohan, Bode Prasad and Varla Kumar Raja suggested that NH-65 should be connected with NH-16 by constructing roads at three points. They proposed increasing the number of vehicle underpasses and installing streetlights along the highway. They also pointed out that water stagnation is occurring in some underpasses and urged NHAI officials to address it.
The meeting was attended by NTR District Joint Collector S. Ilakkiya and Krishna District Joint Collector M. Naveen.
Published – November 05, 2025 09:56 pm IST
