Daijworld Media Network - Mangaluru (MS)
Mangaluru, Nov 29: The second phase of work on Shiradi Ghat stretch between Mangaluru and Bengaluru is scheduled to begin on January 1, 2018 and is expected to be completed by June 2018. Due to this, the traffic plying on this route will have to use an alternative route for a period of six months.
National highway section of the Karnataka public works department (PWD) has already written a letter of intent in this regard to the central ministry of land transport and approval of the same is under process. Ocean Constructions, which has bagged the tender of this work is expected to complete the job quickly, considering that it managed the work of the first phase on the same ghat. In addition, the contractors have procured a concrete applying machine, which has the latest technology, worth Rs 10 crore.
In the first phase work of Shiradi Ghat, the concreting of 13 km stretch of road from Maranahalli to Kempuhole was done at a cost of Rs 80 crore. In the second phase, 13 km stretch from Kempuhole guest house to Addhole in Gundia will be concreted at a cost of Rs 74 crore.
Work on Bridges
In the first phase, the work on bridges along the said stretch of road was done simultaneously during the concreting work. However, this time around, the contractors have not been given the responsibility of work related to the bridges. Only the road concreting tender is given to the contractors. So the question of who is going to carry out the work on around ten bridges that come under the second phase stretch remains.
Why the Delay
As per the tender, in the second phase, work of asphalting and concreting of 33.38 km was to be carried out at a cost of 85.28 crore. This included asphalting of a 21 km stretch between Gulagalale and Maranahalli and concreting of 12.38 km stretch from Kempuhole to Addahole. However, GVR Infra Projects, who took the contract for the said work, failed to start the work in December 2016. For this reason, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) had cancelled that tender.