DPR ready for Shiradi Ghat Tunnel Road work: Gadkari

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Saturday said a detailed project report (DPR) for a tunnel road on the 23-km stretch at Shiradi Ghat, which connects Bengaluru and Mangaluru, is ready and tender worth Rs 10,000 crore will be floated in six months.

He was speaking after laying the foundation stone for three national highway projects worth Rs 1,865 crore at a programme organised near the new KSRTC Bus Stand in the city. The works are on three NH connecting Hassan district with Mandya, Mysuru and Tumakuru districts.

He said the Union government will take up road development works in the state worth Rs 2 lakh crore in the years to come. “The works on upgrading the Mysuru-Bengaluru National Highway into a ten-lane highway is delayed due to problems in acquiring land. Works, worth Rs 7,000 crore on the 117-km stretch, will start in January 2019. The works on Outer Ring Road in Bengaluru will also be taken up in three phases. The project costs Rs 16,000 crore,” he added.

Speaking about the Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway, Gadkari said the expressway will provide good connectivity between the two cities. “With the project, import and export business will pick up. The expressway will pass through Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. While 76 km of the road will be in Karnataka, 91 km and 116 km road will pass in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu respectively. The project costs approximately Rs 18,000 crore,” he said.

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said the JD(S)-Congress coalition government is not only limited to the old Mysuru region.

“The state government is committed for the comprehensive development of the state,” he said.

PWD Minister H D Revanna, MP L R Shivaramegowda, Additional Chief Secretary Rajneesh Goel and Deputy Commissioner Rohini Sindhuri were present.