Three ghat roads to be strengthened

Nearly 15 % of secant pile retaining wall work has been completed at landslip sites on Sampaje Ghat

The National Highways Division of the State Public Works Department had resorted to temporary restoration works at landslip sites on Shiradi Ghat after the stretch was devastated in heavy rain in 2018 .

The three major ghat roads connecting the coastal region with the rest of the State — the Charmadi, the Shiradi and the Sampaje — that had witnessed massive landslips during the monsoon seasons in the last two years would see major strengthening work in the coming days.

Charmadi Ghat on National Highway 73 connects the district with Chikkamagaluru and Hassan districts and beyond. It had suffered major damage during the cloudburst in 2019 as well as the heavy rain this year too.

Shiradi Ghat on the Bengaluru-Mangaluru National Highway 75, though had got a new concrete road a couple of years ago, suffered major landslips in as many as 13 locations during the 2019 rainy season.

The tale of Sampaje Ghat on National Highway 275 connecting the district with Kodagu and Mysuru was no different with multiple landslips in 2019.

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Saturday announced that the three major ghat roads would undergo strengthening work at a cost of around ₹ 125 crore.

The works would be executed by the National Highways Division of the State Public Works Department that looks after the maintenance of these highways.

According to senior engineers with the National Highways Division of the Public Works Department, about 15 % of piling work was already completed on the 2.53-km stretch of the affected Sampaje Ghat.

The ₹ 58.84 crore work involves the construction of the secant pile wall, RCC drains and other road safety works between km 71.6 and km 110 of NH 275. With the present pace of work, at least 50 % of the restoration work could be completed before the next monsoon thereby averting any further damage to the ghat road, the engineers said.

Work on Shiradi Ghat involves providing permanent restoration to valley-side slips from km 237 to km 263 at a cost of ₹ 36.5 crore. River embankment of Kempu Hole had witnessed landslips threatening the concrete road surface at multiple locations on this 25-km stretch of the ghat road.

Similar restoration works were proposed on the valley-side of the Charmadi Ghat between km 86.2 and km 99.2 too at a cost of ₹ 19.36 crore. Tenders for these two works were called for once and there was no response. Tenders have been called for the second time now, engineers said.

Meanwhile, a 40-km stretch of the Bantwal-Mysuru National Highway 275, including the Sampaje Ghat section, would be strengthened at a cost of ₹ 30.5 crore.