Sunabeda, 9th Sept 2025: Under the Bharatmala Project, being implemented by the Central Government, a 6-lane highway from Raipur to Visakhapatnam is under construction at an estimated cost of ₹16,000 crore. Out of the total 465 km of road, 124 km falls in Odisha, specifically within Koraput district, with an expenditure of ₹4,600 crore.
As part of the project, two state-of-the-art tunnels are being constructed in the Shukla area under Pottangi block of Koraput. These will be recognized as Odisha’s highest tunnels.
The lengths of these two tunnels are 3.42 km and 2.8 km, respectively.
Once completed, the road is expected to resolve long-standing traffic issues between Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, significantly reducing travel time, especially for emergency travelers heading to Visakhapatnam. Locals have expressed optimism about the benefits.
The Eastern Ghats mountain range, located along the Odisha border near Shunki Ghat, is where the tunnels are being built at an altitude of approximately 3,000 feet above sea level—a factor that is expected to attract tourists.
The construction work on these two tunnels is expected to be completed by the end of this year, as per official sources.
For this road construction, land acquisition included:
- 873 hectares of private land
- 307 hectares of government land
- 363 hectares of forest land across Koraput and Nabarangpur districts.
- The project includes provisions for road widths of:
- 35 meters in forest areas, and
- 60 meters in non-forest areas.
Tunnel Route Details:
The tunnel connecting Odisha to Andhra Pradesh starts from Baraja village near Chandaka and ends at Kandili.
The tunnel from Andhra Pradesh into Odisha starts at Kuruli and ends at Amphabali village.
This ambitious infrastructure is expected to boost the economic development of the region and strengthen tourism in the district.
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