The opening of a stretch of Chamaraja Double Road, a major connecting carriageway in the city, for vehicular movement after several weeks of closure has brought relief to motorists. The stretch between Shantala Theatre and Ramaswamy Circle has been thrown open.
The 100-feet Road, as Double Road is commonly referred to, was closed since October last year after the Public Works Department launched work to concrete the road. After working overtime, the work on the 1.01-km stretch of the road had been completed.
The remaining portion – Pathashala Circle to Shanthala Theatre Circle – remains closed. Though the PWD authorities had planned to open the entire stretch, the dilapidated condition of the stormwater drain on the remaining stretch has forced them to reconstruct it.
Work on laying interlocking concrete block pavement on either side of the road is under way.
PWD Assistant Executive Engineer Kumaraswamy told The Hindu the work on stormwater drain, which was not proposed earlier, near Lakshmi Theatre had put off the decision to open the entire stretch. “The work will not take long as we are using pre-cast concrete blocks to reconstruct the drain. Some unused concrete blocks or ready concrete boxes available with the Mysore City Corporation will be used,” Mr. Kumaraswamy said. He also said the 30-metre long storm water drain will be reconstructed across the road.
A 7.65-km long road in the city had been identified for laying concrete. The road from Ramaswamy Circle to Bannimantap, covering Sanskrit Pathashala Circle, Basaveshwara Circle, Hardinge Circle, Statue Circle, K.R. Circle, and Ayurveda College Circle had been notified for laying concrete.
The project is estimated to cost about Rs. 50 crore and the funds had been sanctioned under the Rs. 100 crore approved to the city by the government under the Heritage City Development Programme.
