Setu Bharatam project to be kicked off on Friday

NEW DELHI: The government’s Rs 10,200 crore Setu Bharatam project, which aims to make all national highways free of railway crossings by 2019, will be launched on Friday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said 208 places have been identified for construction of rail over-bridges or underpasses.

"An expenditure of Rs 10,200 crore is expected to be incurred on the project," he said.

Gadkari said that in addition to the above, 1,500 new bridges are also proposed to be constructed to replace the old ones.

"There are around 1,500 bridges that are over 50-60 years old. We have prepared a plan to demolish such bridges and rebuild new ones with more capacity," the minister said.

The cost of rebuilding the old bridges is expected to be about Rs 30,000 crore.