The work on strengthening the Shiradi Ghat stretch of national highway connecting Bengaluru with Mangaluru has begun. The National Highway Division of Public Works Department is likely to close the stretch for traffic in a couple of weeks. It will be closed for at least five months.
A team of senior officials of NH Division took a team of presspersons to the work spot on Monday. During the visit, the officials told presspersons that the work, which could be done without stopping the vehicles had begun. At present, the work of laying a concrete road of 13.62 km, connecting Heggadde, near Sakleshpur, with Kempu Hole, had begun. It is estimated to cost Rs. 69.9 crore.
“The work is scheduled for completion in about 18 months. The road will be closed only for five months, when the concreting work begins. Rest of the work could be taken up even while the vehicles keep plying,” C. Mruthyunjaya Swamy, Chief Engineer of National Highways, told presspersons.
In the 13-km stretch, there are about 52 culverts. Construction of six culverts has already begun. The construction company that has bagged the work has collected the materials required for the construction work. As per the estimation, 15,622 tonnes of cement, 30,507 cubic metres of sand and 65,860 cubic metres of metal will be required for this work. So far, the company had procured 8,000 cubic metres of sand and 6,000 cubic metres of metal, said Raghavan, Superintending Engineer. The National Highway officials have written to the Deputy Commissioner of Hassan to help the company in procuring sand.
Public Works Minister H.C. Mahadevappa is expected to inspect the road-work on December 4 and announce the date for the closure of the stretch for vehicles. “As of now, we have not decided the date of closure. It cannot be announced without holding a meeting with the Deputy Commissioners of Hassan and Dakshina Kannada. The Minister will hold a meeting in this regard during his visit to Hassan on December 4,” he said.
To a question, Mr. Swamy said the road had been in poor condition for various reasons. The repair work could not last for long owing to specific features of the locality. “According to a study, it was found that the road lost its quality easily owing to absence of drainage layer to let out water. We are taking utmost care to ensure proper quality of work this time. B.B. Pande, who is accomplished in designing highways, has designed this work too,” he said.
