The widening of about 2 km stretch of Airport Road from Marakada (Welcome Arch) to Airport Entry that started about two years ago is going on at a swift pace and the four-lane road may be opened for traffic before the Monsoon sets in.
Being executed by the Public Works Department, the project also involves the construction of a new parallel bridge across Phalguni (Gurupura) River. With the work on the new bridge having been completed, traffic was diverted on the new bridge to facilitate widening of the Airport Road.
The Airport Road was a four-lane concrete road from KPT Junction (NH 66) till Marakada, closer to Mangaluru City Corporation Border, the remaining part was a two-lane bitumen road. MCC has to take up widening of about 300 metre stretch from Marakada till its Welcome Arch, closer to the bridge.
Widening of the Airport Road between Marakada and Airport Entry, including the new parallel bridge, being executed by the Public Works Department is nearing completion and may be functional before the Monsoon commences. | Photo Credit: Manjunath H. S.
Engineers supervising the widening work said the concrete road work gets completed by May-end. However, road furniture, including completing the median, footpaths etc., require more time. They would be completed after the Monsoon.
PWD would also execute junction improvement work at the junction of Airport Road with the Airport Exit Road as the stretch has a steep curve. From the Exit Road Junction till Airport Entry Junction, the road curves were being flattened to the maximum possible extent so as to offer hassle-free driving for vehicle drivers.
One bottleneck remains
Even after the four-lane road opens for public, one bottleneck still remains on the Airport Road. The Railway Over bridge of Mangaluru-Mumbai line at Maravoor still remains two-lane while construction of a parallel over bridge was yet to commence. Engineers said proposal for the construction was sent to the Railways that has to be approved. New over bridge construction might take a year after it was approved, they said.
The estimated project cost, including land acquisition cost, new parallel bridge on Phalguni and the Railway over bridge was about ₹50 crore.
Published - April 09, 2023 12:29 pm IST
