The Public Works Department (PWD) has brought 6,999.61 km of roads comprising State Highways (SHs), Major District Roads (MDRs), and RITES 2001 roads under the Core Road Network (CRN).
The 394 roads shortlisted from the 14 districts, prioritised by the PWD Maintenance Wing, and notified in the CRN will get enhanced budgetary provisions, improved climate and disaster resilient standards, and performance-based maintenance contracting framework.
After the floods
In the wake of the unprecedented floods in 2018, the government has decided to build the roads sector reform around the CRN.
Of the 6,999.61 km, 4,292.25 km come under State Highways, 2004.99 km are RITES 2001 roads, and the remaining MDRs. As much as 987.51 km of 17 roads that figure in the CRN is in Idukki district.
As much as 959.22 km of SH roads in the CRN is also from Idukki. The lowest of 322.57 km in the CRN is from Kollam district (23 roads) and 322,95 km (19 roads) from Wayanad district.
The CRN prioritisation has been based broadly on economic importance, connectivity to economic growth centres and strategically important corridors, traffic volume, share of commercial vehicles, public transport routes, disaster relief, and climatic resilience functionalities.
The 6,999.61 km coming under the 394 roads have also been prioritised into I, II and III by the wing.
As much as 4,293.25 km of the SHs come under Priority I, 2,004.99 km of RITES 2001 roads under Priority II, and the remaining MDRs under Priority III. The PWD Chief Engineers of Roads, Bridges and Maintenance have been asked by the government to ensure that priority is given to works on these roads, and enhanced climate and disaster risk resilience standards are maintained.
Additional Chief Secretary (PWD) T.K. Jose has asked the Chief Engineer, Maintenance, to take steps to create a separate budget head for the CRN in 2020-21.
Climate-resilient
It has already been decided that the 5,000-odd km of roads, damaged in the deluge and to be developed under Rebuild Kerala with World Bank and German development bank aid, will be climate-resilient.
Transport planners have found that 80% of the vehicular traffic move along 15% of the road network in the State.
