Bangalore-Mysore road to be ready by Dasara

Bangalore-Mysore road to be ready by Dasara

the Hindu

Two stretches of the highway to be made six-lane

MYSORE: The eagerly awaited four-lane highway with a median between Bangalore and Mysore will be thrown open to traffic by Dasara 2005, according to the Public Works Minister, H.D. Revanna.

Speaking to reporters after inspecting the on-going road-widening works at Maddur in Mandya district on Thursday, Mr. Revanna said the highway will be further widened into a six-lane road between Jnanabharati campus on the outskirts of Bangalore and Bidadi, and Srirangapatna and Mysore.

The high volume of traffic operating on the two stretches of the highway — Jnanabharati campus to Bidadi and Mysore to Srirangapatna — is cited as the reason behind the Government's decision to widen it into a six-lane road.

The widening of the two identified stretches of the highway into a six-lane highway will be taken up after the Governing Council meeting of Karnataka Road Development Corporation Ltd. clears the proposal. Until then, four-laning work of the entire highway between the two cities will continue.

Mr. Revanna said instructions have been given to engineers of the private companies executing the project to reduce bends and curves to the maximum extent so that the length of the highway is reduced.

The road-widening work between Bangalore and Mysore has been split and awarded to two companies. While one company is executing the Bangalore-Maddur stretch, the other has taken up work on the Maddur-Mysore stretch.

The cost of the entire project is Rs. 298 crores. But the Government, which has not made any payment towards it, has agreed to clear the bills six months after the completion of the project at Rs. 29.7 crores a month. Even after completion of the work, the companies are required to maintain the road for eight years from the date of completion before the State Government takes over its upkeep.

The widening of the Bangalore-Mysore highway, which began in January 2004, is scheduled for completion in June 2005. But, the completion of the project has been delayed by four months.

Though the widening work is complete along certain stretches of the road, work is continuing at a brisk pace along the rest of the portion. The road-widening works have virtually thrown traffic along the highway out of gear.