Mangaluru, Aug 10 (DHNS): At long last, the Shiradi Ghat stretch, which connects Mangaluru with Hassan on National Highway 48, was thrown open to all types of traffic on Sunday. The move will bring relief to people who travel from Mangaluru to Bengaluru and vice versa.
Oscar Fernandes, who as Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways under the UPA government had sanctioned the project, opened the road for all types of traffic. The first phase of concretization (13 km) from Heggadde to Kempuhole at a cost of Rs 69.90 crore has been completed by M/s Ocean Constructions (India) Pvt Ltd, PWD Minister H C Mahadevappa told reporters at Gundya in Puttur taluk of Dakshina Kannada district.
The shouldering work (filling the edges) and fixing of signboards will be done simultaneously. The second phase works worth Rs 85.18 crore, which include asphalting from Gulagalale to Heggadde (21 km) and concretisation from Kempuhole to Addahole (13 km), will begin after monsoon.
B Ramanath Rai, the Dakshina Kannada district in-charge minister, lauded the contractor, saying it completed the work in seven months, though it was given 18-month deadline. Rs 1,000 crore has been released from the Central Road Fund for the work.
On the project to build a bypass to Shiradi Ghat, including a six-lane tunnel from Heggadde to Adda Hole worth Rs 10.15 crore, the final feasibility and the Detailed Project Report will be submitted to the government in May 2016. The 22.84-km project will be completed in four years once the DPR is submitted and the Japan International Cooperation Agency will fund it, said Mahadevappa.
The width of the tunnel is 14 metres and height 7.5 metres. The project has seven tunnels (12.41 km length) and 10 bridges (6.72 km). M/s Geo Consultant India Pvt Ltd has conducted a survey and submitted a report on three alternative alignments. A detailed discussion with the JICA representatives will be held in New Delhi on Tuesday. The tunnel route would connect Mangaluru port with Chennai port.