The work on upgrading NH-212 connecting Uttamballi near Kollegal and Moolehole in Bandipur has picked up momentum and is expected to ease the flow of traffic on the busy section. The road passes through Mysuru and Chamarajanagar districts.
People in the region have been demanding it for long as the road also connects Mysuru, Nanjangud, and Gundlupet which is choked with traffic and is a motorist’s nightmare given the vehicle density, especially on the Mysuru-Nanjangud stretch.
The upgrading entails widening the highway to a four-lane road with a carriage width of nearly 15 metres on the 21.5-km long Mysuru-Nanjangud stretch in view of Passenger Car Units (PCU) in excess of 25,000 a day. Conversion to a four-lane highway was long overdue as the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) stipulates four-laning of roads with a 20,000 PCU or more.
The road width along other stretches will vary between seven metres and 10 metres. It will also have a four-lane stretch while passing through Gundlupet town while there will be a bypass at Gargeshwari and near T. Narsipur.
R. Dhruvanarayan, Chamarajanagar MP, told The Hindu that the work had been completed on 65 km of the 132-km stretch and the contractor had another 13 months to complete the remaining part of the work. It was being taken up at a cost of nearly Rs. 419 crore after revised estimates and the project also provided for safety barriers along the lake embankments on the Mysuru-Nanjangud section.
“Besides, the alignment along the Mysuru-Nanjangud section, which has too many curves at present, is set to alter a little and a bridge is being planned to obviate the need to take a steep curve near Kadakola which is also a safety hazard,” Mr. Dhruvanarayan said. The work envisaged construction of a main bridge across the Kapila near Nanjangud, 28 small bridges, 123 box culverts and 103 new pipe culverts to divert the rain water, he added. The project remained a non-starter when mooted almost six years ago and when finalised and floated under the public-private-partnership model, it did not evince interest from contractors. Hence it was converted to Engineering, Procurement and Construction mode with funding by the NHAI.
While the road-widening led to felling of over 3,000 trees, the NHAI deposited Rs.7 crore with the Forest Department to take up tree plantation to compensate for the land.
