The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has invited bids for four-laning of Maranahalli – Addahole of Shirdi Ghat section on the Mangaluru – Bengaluru NH 75 to be taken up at an estimated cost of Rs 1,976 crore.
Union minister of road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari informed Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel that the NHAI is simultaneously taking up the finalisation of DPR works for the project of Shiradi Ghat tunnel, which will decrease the logistic cost for the traffic between Mangaluru and Bengaluru.
“This 23 km-long tunnel work will cost Rs 15,000 crore. We are ensuring to finalize the DPR by April 2023 and invite bids in May 2023,” the minister stated in a letter to the MP.
In the meantime, it has been decided to repair the section of Sakleshpur to Maranahalli. The bids for repair work for an amount of Rs 12.2 crore for the ease of traffic, are under evaluation.
The existing contractor is taking up the repair of patchworks to maintain the road in traffic-worthy condition, Gadkari stated in the letter that the MP released on Monday.
It may be recalled that the Union minister had announced in the Lok Sabha while answering a question posed by MP Kateel on December 8 that the tunnel bypass for Shiradi Ghat on Bengaluru-Mangaluru National Highway 75 was found to be not viable.
Gadkari also said that the construction of tunnels in the Shiradi Ghat section involved huge investments as well as difficulties in the execution of work and might not be viable.