A 26-km stretch of Shiradi Ghat on Bengaluru-Mangaluru National Highway (NH 75), which is being reconstructed with concrete, is unlikely to be made a four-lane road, as the Union government has approved construction of a 18.5-km green bypass to avoid the Ghat stretch.
In a written reply in the Legislative Council to Ivan D’Souza recently, Minister for Public Works H.C. Mahadevappa said the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had approved the proposal for the green bypass to be constructed in association with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Temporary measureAs such, the Ministry had approved reconstruction of the Ghat with concrete as a temporary measure, the Minister said.
Mr. Mahadevappa said it was originally planned to make the 138.5-km stretch of NH 75 (formerly NH 48) between Hassan and B.C. Road into a four-lane road [from chainage 189.5 km to 328 km]. Even the viability study done by Feedback Ventures had seconded this proposal.
However, the Ministry has approved construction of the four-lane road excluding the 26-km Shiradi Ghat stretch on engineering, procurement and construction mode or design, build, finance, operate and transfer mode, he said.
Pre-feasibility studyEven as the actual reconstruction work on the Ghat is yet to commence, a team from JICA recently visited the site to conduct a pre-feasibility study of the green bypass project.
The proposed project comprises seven tunnels totalling 7.7 km, 3.9 km stretch of high-arch bridges and 6.9 km stretch of road.
The pre-feasibility study report would be prepared in association with a private consultant to be chosen by the state Public Works Department.
JICA is also expected to offer opinions on minimising impact on the fragile ecosystem of the Western Ghats in the report. The Union government is expected to seek financial aid from the agency before preparing the detailed project report based on the feasibility report.
