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NH 66 incomplete at crucial points in Udupi district

Published On : 25 Apr 2017   |  Reported By : Courtesy: The Hindu   |  Pic On: photo credit: The Hindu


Udupi (The Hindu): Work on National Highway 66 in Udupi district is moving at a slow pace with an underpass and flyover at Udupi and Kundapur towns still incomplete.

At the same time, the widening of the road within Padubidri and Kundapur town limits too has not picked up pace. This is even as road users are being forced to pay tolls at two plazas – one at Hejmady and the other at Gundmi.

The Hejmady Toll Plaza is located 12 km after NITK Surathkal Toll Plaza, where National Highway Aauthority of India (NHAI) collects toll for the 17 km stretch of the NH from Nanthoor in Mangaluru to NITK, developed under Port Connectivity Project. Anyone expecting a smooth ride after paying the toll at Hejmady will be in for a shock. One has to negotiate about three km of crude road in Padubidri town.

The widening of the NH at Padubidri was delayed owing to the controversy related to taking the road bypass or inside the town. While those losing land for the bypass put up a stiff protest, traders in the town too opposed the move to widen the road inside the town.

However, even though the issue was resolved about a year ago, the concessionaire is still struggling to build the road.

The next bottleneck comes at Udupi’s Karavali Junction where the Udupi-Malpe Road (now a National Highway too) crosses NH 66. Work on the vehicular underpass for Malpe-Tirthahalli NH is moving in a snail’s pace.

In Kundapur town too, about three km of the NH still remains to be widened even as work on the flyover at Shastri Circle has come to a standstill. The road from Vinayaka to Sangam has not seen any development for over three years while vehicles have to negotiate the uneven path.

NHAI sources admit that the works are not expected to be completed before this monsoon, indicating another spell of hardship for road users as well as those living close by.

The stretch of four-lane highway lacks underpasses for vehicles and pedestrians or cattle at several crucial points, including Mukka, Haleyandagi and Mulki Town (in Dakshina Kannada district), Padubidri Town, Uchchila, Katpady, Udupi-Ambagilu, Kallinapura-Santhekatte, Kolalagiri Cross, Sasthana, Saligrama, Kota High Schooll, Thekkatte, Anegudde-Kumbhashi Cross, Koteshwara-Gopadi Cross, Vinayaka-Kundapur and Moorkai- Kundapur.

The police have been forced to put up barricades, a crude method to curb speed, for the safety of pedestrians and crossing vehicles at many junctions.







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