People continue to endure pothole-crater filled highway in the absence of motorable alternative road during NH 75 widening

Road users and residents along B.C. Road-Periyashanthi stretch of Mangaluru-Bengaluru National Highway 75 that is being widened into four lanes continue to endure a pothole and crater-filled road, with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) failing to provide an alternative motorable road.

Road users and residents along B.C. Road-Periyashanthi stretch of Mangaluru-Bengaluru National Highway 75 that is being widened into four lanes continue to endure a pothole and crater-filled road, with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) failing to provide an alternative motorable road.

Their woes started in 2017 when the NHAI initially awarded the contract to M/s Larsen and Tubro to widen the B.C. Road-Adda Hole stretch into four lanes. Subsequent to L&T withdrawing from the project, a fresh contract was awarded to M/s KNR Constructions in March 2021, modifying the widening scope between B.C. Road and Periyashanthi (Dharmasthala Cross) at an estimated cost of ₹1,100 crore.

While the contractor has completed vehicular overpasses at Panemangaluru and Melkar junctions and partially opened them to traffic, the flyover work at Kalladka, VoP work at Mani, Uppinangady (three VoPs), and Nellyadi were still going on. A few stretches of the carriageway that have been concreted were opened for traffic.

Other than the completed VoPs and concreted stretches, rest of the carriageway has remained without any bitumen cover with potholes and craters haunting road users. Umashankar Rai from Kalladka lamented that road users and residents have to suffer either dust clouds or slush-filled carriageway. The contractor often sprinkles water on the carriageway to prevent formation of dust clouds; however this resulted in slushy carriageway, he said.

As per the contract conditions, the contractor was supposed to provide an alternative motorable road while executing the widening work. Nowhere such an alternative motorable road, from Kalladka to Pariyashanthi, including Mani, Uppinangady and Nellyadi, was provided regretted Steven Rego from Uppinangady.

A spokesperson from KNR Constructions said there was absolute lack of space to provide an alternative motorable road during the execution of the project. He said VoPs at Panemangaluru and Melkar were opened for traffic to reduce the inconvenience to road users.

Concreting of service roads beneath the Kalladka flyover was beng done with about 50% progress. The flyover too was under finishing stages and likely to be opened for traffic by April, the spokesperson said. Issues related to land acquisition, shifting of utility lines etc., have delayed the project, he added.