Closure of Shiradi Ghat road to be delayed further

The closure of the Shiradi Ghat section to  concretise the Bengaluru-Mangaluru road may take some more time.

This is because work on the alternative road Mani-Mysuru road at Koinadu (near Madikeri) and at Sinchona near Suntikoppa — is yet to be completed.

The road is being closed for the concreting work on the 13.26-km Heggade-Kempuhole guest house stretch and to asphalt the 21-km stretch from Gulagalale to Heggade.
The authorities are planning to divert traffic to Charmadi Ghat and Mani-Mysuru road after the closure of the Shiradi Ghat road.

Sources in the National Highways Authority of India said Mani-Mysuru road was incomplete at Koinadu and Sinchona near Suntikoppa. The road had caved in following heavy rain last year. “Unless the work on Mani-Mysuru road is complete, we will not recommend closure of Shiradi Ghat road,” an official told Deccan Herald.

Sources in the Kodagu district administration said: “The road at Koinadu and near Suntikoppa on Mani-Mysuru road has not yet been cleared for heavy vehicle traffic as the work is in progress. The Kodagu DC had recently written to the State government requesting it to not give permission for the movement of multi-axle buses and tankers on the road till the work is completed.”

Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner A B Ibrahim said the decision on closure of Shiradi Ghat road was likely to be taken at a meeting in Bengaluru on December 30. The Sampaje route (Mangaluru-Puttur-Sullia) has been repaired and the patch work is in final stage.

Once Shiradi Ghat road is closed, then all 'A' category vehicles (light vehicles and passenger cars) will travel via Charmadi Ghat road while 'B' category vehicles except tankers will travel via Mani-Mysuru road. “We have appealed to the authorities to use Shivamogga road for Udupi, Manipal-Bengaluru buses. The tankers will travel via Bengaluru-Honnavara route,” said the DC.

The National Highways official said that Charmadi Ghat road had been readied to accommodate the traffic with the closure of Shiradi Ghat road. There are 14 hairpin curves on the stretch. The road has been developed from Mundaje and Kottigehara near Mudigere. At a few stretches, it has been widened. In case of the closure of the road, only light vehicles will be allowed on Charmadi Ghat.