Bypass road on B'luru-Mysuru highway in 6 months

Work on construction of bypass roads at various places along the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway upgrade project has commenced and will be completed within the next six months, Public Works Minister H D Revanna said on Monday.

Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Revanna said around 80% of the land acquisition for the Rs 7,000-crore project has been completed.

In a bid to prevent traffic pileups at towns when upgrade work of the Bengaluru-Mysuru stretch up is taken up, construction of bypass roads and elevated corridors at Bidadi (6.9 kms), Ramanagara–Channapatna (22.3 kms), Maddur (4.4 kms), Mandya (10 kms) and Srirangapatna (8.2 kms) will be completed first, the minister said.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has divided the project into two packages – Bengaluru to Nidaghatta (56kms) and Nidaghatta to Mysuru (96.01 kms). The project involves six-laning of the road by widening the existing four-lane with two service lanes on both sides.

The project is being executed by Bhopal-based Dilip Buildcon. NHAI has set a deadline of two and a half years for the company to complete the project.

Shiradi Ghat

Revanna said the Centre has given an assurance to the state government that it would take steps to expedite the implementation of the tunnel road with six lanes to Shiradi Ghat on the Bengaluru-Mangaluru national highway.

The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highway has approved the alignment of the 29-km tunnel road from Addahole to Heggadde in Shiradi Ghat which will be taken up through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Revanna said the state government will submit a memorandum to Union Minister for Road Transport and Highway Nitin Gadkari to provide an advance of Rs 7,000 crore to Karnataka to complete all projects taken up using Central Road Fund (CRF). He said the Centre was providing only only Rs 500 crore per annum to take up projects using CRF, which was grossly insufficient.

He said PWD has taken up development of roads and bridges across the state at a total cost of Rs 5,427 crore.