Residents along the coast wonder whether the newly-laid highway will last long because of alleged substandard works. Devidas Shanbhag, a resident of Maravanthe in Udupi district, said instead of completely removing the old road and building a new one with a proper foundation, the contractor has just been scraping the top portion and laying a fresh layer of bitumen at several places.
Road shoulders are almost absent between Maharajaswamy Varahaswamy temple and Trasi, putting pedestrians at risk near the famous Maravanthe beach, Mr. Shanbhag said. Project consultant AECOM Asia Company Ltd., had been reminding the contractor that earthen shoulders should have 150-mm-thick granular material all along the four-lane highway.
NHAI Project Director Z. Samson Vijay Kumar said the concessionaire would have to redo the work if it is found to be substandard.
