JOIN USShiradi Ghat stretch will soon have concrete road
"We have sent the proposal to the Centre for clearance after incorporating the suggestions made by a technical team, which visited the spot recently. We are hoping to get the clearance soon. Once we get the nod, tenders will be floated for relaying the 26-km stretch road in concrete", sources told Deccan Herald.
Repairs
The repair work on 32-km stretch of NH 48 on Shiradi- Ghat was taken up in 2007-08 by closing the road for about eight months, at a cost of Rs 33.5 crore. The road was opened for public on June 2, 2008.
However, within a few weeks, the stretch had become unmotorable. The High Court had even ordered for CBI inquiry into the road repair works. Later, the Centre had sanctioned Rs 2.5 crore for undertaking repair work of the damaged stretch. The work was completed on April 25, 2009.
Road closure
Those travelling to Mangalore from Bangalore will have to get prepared for a longer journey as the Shiradi Ghat will be closed for 10 days from September 3 to ‘remove the dangerous boulders along the road.’
National Highways Executive Engineer Krishne Gowda said the road in the ghat section would be closed up to Hassan district border from Gundya Check Post. On June 26, the traffic had been affected as the boulders had rolled down on to the road. However, the road was cleared and was opened for the movement of vehicles.
No concrete action could be taken to remove the boulders as the region was getting heavy showers. Consequent to this, the base of the hillock had weakened. To avoid any untoward incident, the National Highways department has decided to remove the boulders," he added.
He said, "The estimated cost for removing the boulders is Rs 20 lakh. We have planned to complete the work within 10 days. As the road is narrow and alternative road can not be created and the ban on the movement of vehicles is necessary," he added
With the closure of the road, vehicle users have to use Puttur-Sullia-Sampaje-Madikeri-Kushalnagar-Mysore-Mandya route, an additional distance of 50-60 kilometres, or Moodigere-Charmadi-Belthangady route.
The running time for buses from Mangalore-Bangalore will also increase. It takes around eight hours to reach Bangalore from Mangalore via Shiaradi Ghat route.