Work on construction of twin RuBs under two railway lines begins

Movement of heavy vehicles restricted on Morgans Gate-Jeppinamogaru NH 66 stretch to facilitate earth and box-casting work

The road from Morgans Gate to Jeppinamogaru (NH 66) has been closed for traffic. | Photo Credit: ANIL KUMAR SASTRY

Southern Railway on Wednesday commenced the work on construction of the crucial twin Railway Under Bridges (RUBs) with box-pushing method on the Morgans Gate-Jeppinamogaru NH 66 Junction Road after the district administration approved its proposal to close down the road for heavy vehicles.

“Earth excavation will commence simultaneously from Jeppinamogaru as well as Mahakalipadpu areas from Thursday itself,” said an engineer involved with the project. Earth has to be excavated for a depth of about 5 metres to lay the foundation for the concrete boxes which would be cast in-situ. If assessed independently, there would be four RuBs — two each under two railway lines of Shoranur-Mangaluru Junction and Shoranur-Mangaluru Central — under the project.

With curing period of 28 days for each 9-m-long and 7-m-tall concrete box, it takes time to complete the crucial work with the train operations going on normal on the tracks above, the engineer said. Mumbai-based Vijay Infra Projects Pvt. Ltd. was the lowest bidder to erect the twin RuBs by quoting ₹17.6 crore. Another ₹12 crore was expected to be spent for ancillary works, including connecting roads.

The ₹50 crore Morgans Gate-Jeppinamogaru 4-lane project was initiated on March 29, 2021 by Nalin Kumar Kateel, MP, and Vedavyas Kamath, MLA. While Mangaluru Smart City Ltd. will provide ₹30.7 crore, Mr. Kateel will provide ₹19.87 crore from MPLAD fund for the twin RuB project under “Deposit” scheme. Under the Deposit scheme, either the State government or the local body has to bear the entire cost of the project.

While the Shoranur-Mangaluru Junction line was provided with an RuB during its construction, the Shoranur-Mangaluru Central did not have one at Mahakalipadpu thereby causing frequent traffic hold-ups on the busy stretch that connects central business district with South Mangaluru and Kasargod through NH 66.

The existing road was 4.5 m to 5 m wide while the ongoing four-lane work offers a uniform width of 18 m with concrete box drainages, street lights and other facilities. Of the 1,789-m-long road between NH 66 Junction and Morgan’s Gate, 941 m would be 18-m-wide and 137 m near the junction would be 24-m-wide.