Varthur Road to get a facelift

Varthur Road to get a facelift
Deccan Herald


Reconstruction of the battered stretch of Varthur Road -- from Varthur Kodi to Gunjur -- has finally begun, much to commuters’ relief.

Deccan Herald had carried a story on the deplorable condition of this stretch of the road on February 5, 2007.

PWD officials say Rs 8 crore has been sanctioned for the reconstruction of the 5.85-km stretch and work began 15 days ago. Two km of the stretch is currently being tackled -- the 15th to 17th km from Gunjur towards Varthur.

The narrow tarred surface of this stretch, which was only around 3.5 to 3.75 metres wide, had heavy traffic.

With container trucks too plying on this road in big numbers, no wonder the condition of the road was deteriorating fast.

Now the tarred surface along the entire stretch is being increased to 9 metres, making it a double lane road. The tender has been given to Chennai-based GVR Constructions, which has earlier completed the roads from Anekal, Attibele, Sarjapura and Dommasandra to Gunjur, and also from Chandapura to Dommasandra.

‘High durability’

GVR Constructions’ Gopi Krishna said that though six months had been slotted to finish the work, it would be completed by end-April. This stretch, when completed, will not need maintenance for 10 to 15 years as is designed to handle heavy traffic, which will be diverted from Attibele (NH-7) to Hoskote (NH-4). With residents and shopowners alongside the road having complained of water logging during monsoons, Mr Gopi said ‘correction’ of the side drains in Varthur village was also being taken up.

Proposal to widen

In addition, a proposal to widen the Varthur Tank Bund Road via Public Private Participation (PPP) is in the pipeline.

If the approval comes through, GVR will incorporate the widening along with their reconstruction works, he added.

The reconstruction of the road bridge at Varthur Kodi, however, will remain pending for the time being as there is a controversy surrounding it, a PWD official said.

However, traffic has not been diverted as only half the width of the road is blocked for roadworks. The work is being done in a phased manner, with a 2-km stretch being taken up at one time.