The Hindu : Karnataka News : Shiradi Ghat likely to be opened for heavy traffic soon

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Wednesday, Apr 23, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka

Shiradi Ghat likely to be opened for heavy traffic soon

Raviprasad Kamila

It has been closed for heavy vehicles since October 2007

— PHOTO: BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

BRISK PACE: Road work is going on in the Shiradi Ghat section.

SHIRADI GHAT (DAKSHINA KANNADA): Commuters between Mangalore and Bangalore can hope to have a comfortable journey in the Shiradi Ghat area before the new government comes to power.

The ghat section on National Highway 48 is closed for heavy traffic since October 2007.

Mangalore Division of the National Highways has completed 70 per cent of the repair works required in this stretch.

“If it does not rain now, the division will complete all works by the third week of May,” S. Gopal, executive engineer of the division, told The Hindu.

“All pending bills of the three contractors have been cleared,” he said and added that vehicular traffic will be allowed on both the sides of the stretch soon after the repairs.

During a visit to the ghat on Monday, C.L. Muniraju, junior engineer, Sakleshpur sub-division of National Highways, said that the division had taken up the repair of the 37-km stretch of the ghat road. Of that, a 33-km length of road needed fresh asphalting. Works in the remaining portion involved concreting of 13 critical curves and asphalting the approaches to those concrete curves.

Representatives of Durga Constructions executing a major portion of asphalt work have planned to complete a one-km stretch of road in one-and-half days, Mr. Muniraju said.

He said that this contract agency is filling potholes in the remaining stretch. Asphalting will be done soon after.

According to him, of the 13 critical curves required concreting, works on eight curves have been completed. They are 12 metres wide. Works on four curves have been completed on one side. Concreting of the remaining curve is under progress on one side.

Gokuldas Bhandarkar, contractor executing this work, said that these five curves will be completed before May. He said that the authorities should not allow heavy vehicles on the ghat till concreting of five curves is completed. If trucks, lorries and buses are allowed, it will affect the concrete work.

Sadashiva Prabhu, a taxi driver plying on the ghat section, said that when the ghat was in bad condition before October 2007 it required six hours to cover 136 km distance from Mangalore to Sakleshpur. Now it took four hours to complete the distance. When all works are completed, it will be a two-and-half-hour journey between the port city and the coffee town, he said. Mr. Prabhu said that the condition of the ghat road deteriorated four years ago after overloaded trucks carrying iron ore to New Mangalore Port started plying in this ghat. When the ghat was in good condition, taxi drivers from Mangalore took only two-and-half hours to reach Sakleshpur. He was of the view that overloaded trucks will damage the new asphalted stretch again. “The government should not allow overloaded trucks in this ghat section,” he said.

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