Sayyaji Rao Road, one of the city’s oldest and key commercial hubs and a part of the Jamboo Savari route, was shut for traffic on Wednesday as the Public Works Department has taken up the work of laying concrete on the road.
This road will be out of bounds for about a month from Wednesday.
The 680-metre road stretch between K.R. Circle and Government Ayurveda College Circle has been shut for traffic to facilitate the concretisation work.
A 6.50-km long road in the city has been identified for laying concrete. The road from Ramaswamy Circle to Bannimantap, covering Sanskrit Pathashala Circle, Basaveshwara Circle, Hardinge Circle, Statue Circle, K.R. Circle, and Ayurveda College Circle has been notified for laying concrete.
The project is estimated to cost about Rs. 50 crore and the funds sanctioned under the Rs. 100 crore approved to the city by the government under the Heritage City Development Programme.
The work on the stretch between Hardinge Circle and Statue Circle covering Albert Victor Road (about 300 meters); Ramaswamy Circle to Basaveshwara Circle covering 100-feet Road (about 1.05 km); and RMC Circle to LIC Circle covering Bamboo Bazaar, Nelson Mandela Road, and Bannimantap (1.5 km) has been completed.
“A few allied works such as laying interlocking tiles for footpath from RMC Circle to LIC Circle are pending. We have started work on Sayyaji Rao Road as we want to finish the work on all stretches before Dasara,” PWD AEE Kumaraswamy told The Hindu.
He said preliminary works would be taken up on the road in the next one week and thereafter 15 days would be required to lay concrete besides a few days for curing. “We hope to complete the work within one month,” he added.
After Sayyaji Rao Road, two more stretches will remain to complete the project — the stretch between K.R. Circle and Statue Circle (about 250 metres) and Hardinge Circle to Basaveshwara Circle (about one km).
“We have set our aim to complete all these works before Dasara. If steps are taken to divert traffic on the busy road stretch from Hardinge Circle, we can complete the works much before the festivities begin,” Mr. Kumaraswamy said.
Asked whether the works would get delayed with the onset of monsoon, he said, “If there is no rain at the time of laying of concrete, we can complete the work as scheduled without any problem. We require the technical support from other departments and the Mysuru City Corporation since telephone lines, and drainage networks are laid under the road.”
Meanwhile, shop-keepers on Sayyaji Rao Road have urged the district administration to direct Public Works Department to take up the work on one stretch of the road and allow motorists to ply on the other side to enable them run their business without any hurdle.
The work on the other side of the road can be taken up after the completion of the first stretch, they suggested. In view of the closure of Sayyaji Rao Road, the police have diverted traffic on the road listing out alternative routes.
