Shiradi Ghat may get a four-lane concrete road

NHAI is preparing to submit a proposal to Union Ministry

With asphalt roads in the ghat sections in Dakshina Kannada battered annually during the monsoon, the National Highway Authority of India, on the directions of the Union government, is submitting a proposal to lay a four-lane concrete road on National Highway 75 at Shiradi Ghat.

The proposal, which escalates the cost of the project, will be scrutinised by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways before approval, said NHAI officials.

NHAI’s four-laning proposal of National Highway 75, which is an important link between the port city and the State capital, involves using asphalt (bitumen) entirely between BC Road and Hassan. The project cost was estimated at Rs. 1,605 crore.

However, officials said that the Ministry had directed them to work on a proposal to concrete the nearly 43-km Shiradi Ghat section, where an average of 3,800 mm of rainfall is recorded between June and September. Concrete was seen as a viable alternative to bitumen which sees high wear and tear under heavy rainfall, said officials.

Costs higher

NHAI officials said that concreting the stretch would raise the initial cost to around Rs. 2,730 crore. Though the cost was high, the economics balances out over the 30-year expected lifespan of the concrete road.

“While bitumen roads have to be re-laid once in five years in conditions such as this, concrete roads need lesser maintenance over their 30-year span. The cost analysis will work out in the long run,” said an official.

While concreting the road is not expected to affect the two-year construction period; a report by Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) shows that concreting roads will enable goods carriers that form a sizeable chunk of the traffic on the highway to consume up to 20 per cent lesser fuel.

The institute also believes that concrete surfaces cause less wear and tear for tyres, and increases the lifespan of suspensions, chassis and shock-absorbers. The report says that concrete roads can help bring down operation costs of vehicles by around 10 per cent. The approval for the proposal is expected to come by March, when tenders are expected to be called for; and officials are now optimistic about starting work on the project by October 2015.