Hyderabad-Tirupati travel distance to be cut by 80 km

Hyderabad: A new national highway coming up between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana will reduce the travel distance between Hyderabad and Tirupati by at least 80 km.

Union Ministry of Road Transport and Nation Highways Authority of India gave the nod to the proposal to develop the new highway between Kalwakurthy in Telangana and Karivena in AP on 122 km-stretch. The newly sanctioned highway will pass through Nagarkurnool, Kollapur, Atmakur and Nandyal Assembly segments. Currently, people visiting Tirupati from Hyderabad have to travel via Kurnool, Nandyal and Kadapa.

Officials said the new highway will provide the road connectivity without touching Kurnool and Kadapa to reach Tirupati and this would reduce the distance between the two cities of the two Telugu states. At present, the total distance between Hyderabad and Tirupati is above 570 km. Once the new highway becomes operational, the distance between the two cities will be reduced to 500 km thus by cutting travel time by an hour. Currently, it takes nine hours for travel from Hyderabad to Tirupati by high speed buses.

Officials said the NHAI is proposing to develop the four-lane road on the newly sanctioned highway. A final decision whether to take up six-lane road will be taken at the time of finalisation of the DPR (Detailed Project Report). Works will begin after land acquisition.