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110 potential accident black spots on State Highways identified

Last Updated 10 August 2014, 17:32 IST

The State Public Works Department (PWD) has identified 110 potential accident black spots on State Highways (SH) in eight north Karnataka districts and a majority of these killer roads are in Belgaum, Bijapur and Bellary districts.

As per Black Spot Investigation report prepared recently by VicRoads, a statutory authority for road and traffic management in the State of Victoria, Australia, under the Karnataka State Highways Improvement Project (KSHIP), Belgaum district alone has 23 high-risk black spots, followed by Bijapur with seven and Bellary and Yadgir six each.

Of 110 black spots, 54 are identified as high risk, four are moderate to high risk, 36 are moderate and 16 low risk. “Y” intersections (three-way intersection or a road intersection with three arms) without traffic signals, faulty junction design, no regulation on speed and absence of signboards and road markings are found to be some of the main reasons for black spots.

Gulbarga, Raichur, Bidar and Koppal are four other districts where high-risk black spots have been identified. Near Kanabargi tank on SH-54, near central jail on SH-20, APMC road on SH-31, (all in Belgaum district), near Teradala town limits on SH-53 in Bagalkot district, near Babaleshwara village of SH-34 in Bijapur district, below Daroji tank of SH-19 in Bellary district are some of the high-risk black spots.

The investigation has been based on information obtained from the traffic police, PWD and transport departments. These government agencies had identified 570 accidents zones. About 500 of them were in north Karnataka. Hence, VicRoads focused its investigation on north Karnataka and identified 110 as black spots. But remedial measures will be taken across the State as per the report, KSHIP Chief Engineer N S Ramesh said.

The report has been prepared after visiting all 570 accident zones. It is a detailed and comprehensive report on potential accident spots.

It has not only identified the problematic spots but also recommended remedial measures for each of the 110 black spots to make them safer. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has offered to fund the project to make these places safer for traffic, he added.

‘Y’ intersections on most State Highways are identified as an important reason for accidents. Drivers of vehicles entering the SH can hardly see the traffic at a ‘Y’ intersection. This leads to accidents.

So it has been decided to convert these intersections into ‘T’ intersections or give it 90 degree curve, KSHIP Superintendent Engineer Masood Sharief said.

Safe corridor project

Ramesh said the PWD has decided to implement Safe Corridor Demonstration Project on Belgaum-Yaragatti four-lane stretch of SH-20, which has number of black spots. Under the project, the PWD, the traffic police, transport, health departments will jointly work to make the stretch into a model one in the State.

Besides, two stretches of SH – Raichur-Manvi-Sindhanur (SH-23) and Harihar-Hospet (SH-25) – have been identified for black spot corridor project. Detail project reports are being prepared for this purpose, he added.

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(Published 10 August 2014, 17:32 IST)

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