Road users commuting between Mangaluru and Bengaluru through National Highway-75 are wondering whether four-laning of the highway between B.C. Road and Hassan would mean negotiating a crater-ridden old road till the new one gets ready.
On the other hand, the Shiradi Ghat that is a major link between the coast and Bengaluru continues to sport battered stretches for 13 km, which is waiting to be concreted.
Sources in the National Highways division of State Public Works Department have said that work order to the selected contractor would be issued soon after the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways approves the proposal. Once Shiradi Ghat concreting is taken up, the road would remain closed for at least four months.
Four-laning work between B.C. Road and Addahole (near Gundya, 66 km) and Maranahalli (Heggadde) and Hassan (55 km) is being executed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), contracts for which have already been awarded. While clearing trees for the widening work is already under progress in Dakshina Kannada, preliminary works are yet to start in Hassan district.
Temporary filling
As only patch works were done to fill potholes and craters in anticipation of the four-laning work, the road has become battered forcing down the speed of vehicles and sometimes contributing to road mishaps. Many potholes and craters exist between B.C. Road and Melkar, Mani and Nelyadi, and Nelyadi and Gundya in Dakshina Kannada and between Maranahalli and Sakleshpur in Hassan district. The yet-to-be concreted 13-km stretch of Shiradi Ghat between Addahole and Kempuhole Guest House too is not an exception with vehicles veering from one end of the road to the other to avoid craters.
Sheik Hussain, a taxi driver from Bengaluru, who regularly ferries tourists to Kukke Subrahmanya and Dharmasthala, said drivers find it highly difficult to negotiate these roads, while heavy vehicles move on at the cost of damaging vehicles.
The drive from Mangaluru to Hassan by car, which used to take about four hours, now takes at least six hours, said Ummer Farooque, another taxi driver from Mangaluru.
PWD sources said it is the responsibility of the agency undertaking upgradation work to maintain the existing carriageway in motorable condition. NHAI officials were not available for comments.
