Underpass road on NH 66 to be ready in a fortnight

It will facilitate smooth movement of vehicles both on NH 66 and NH 169A

Work on the underpass at Karavali Junction on National Highway 66 in Udupi is under way.

The long-awaited underpass road on National Highway 66 at Karavali Junction here is expected to be ready in a couple of weeks facilitating smooth movement of vehicles both on National Highway 66 and National Highway 169A.

This underpass road on NH 66 connecting Mangaluru with Kundapur at Karavali Junction is 800 metres long. This road has six lanes with a divider in between. The road on both the right and left side of the divider is 11 metres wide.

Below the underpass are two 10.5-metre wide boxes. These two boxes have been constructed to connect Udupi with Malpe, which is now part of Malpe-Tirthalli National Highway 169A, which is also under construction.

The construction of the underpass will solve the traffic snarls which occur mostly at the Karavali Junction point where vehicles moving from Mangaluru to Kundapur-Karwar and from Malpe beach to Udupi have to struggle to move on the service road built for NH 66 below the underpass road on the western side.

Vehicles going from Udupi to Malpe beach have to move on the service road constructed on the eastern side below the underpass (NH 66) and take a long turn and join the service road on the western side and then travel to Malpe.

The same is the case on the return journey where vehicles coming from Malpe have to join the service road on the western side of the underpass and then take a long turn and join the service road on the eastern side and reach Udupi.

Once the construction of the underpass is completed and the road is thrown open to vehicular traffic, vehicles moving from Mangaluru to Kundapur or Karwar and vice-versa will be able to use the underpass road and go straight without using the service roads.

Those vehicles going from Udupi to Malpe and vice-versa would be able to use the two boxes below the underpass and reach their destinations without using the service roads.

The underpass road will ease traffic snarls to a large extent.

Deputy Commissioner Priyanka Mary Francis said that Navayuga Udupi Tollway Pvt. Ltd. has assured her of throwing open the underpass for public use at Karavali Junction by November.

“The work on the underpass is nearing completion. It will be thrown open to the public by this month-end or next month,” said Samson Vijay Kumar, Project Director, National Highways Authority of India.