NHAI takes overbridge route to cut accidents

NEW DELHI: In an effort to reduce crashes and fatalities, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) plans to build foot over bridges (FOBs). In the first phase, 106 such structures will come up across stretches and to expedite the work, the authority has delegated powers to regional officers.
In fact, expansion of NHs has dissected villages and towns, and in most cases, without any facility for safe crossovers, which has been one of the main reasons of high pedestrian deaths.
"In case of four-lane highways, we have delegated the power to approve such works costing up to Rs 80 lakh, and up to Rs 1 crore for 6-lane highways. We will soon have all India competition for design of FOBs to make them more user-friendly," NHAI chairman Raghav Chandra told TOI.
In the past FOBs and vehicle underpasses were excluded while preparing projects to make them financially viable.