Udupi, (The Hindu): The work on widening the 10-km stretch between Parkala and Karavali Junction on National Highway 169A in Udupi city into a 30-m-wide road will begin in about a fortnight. This stretch is part of 90 km National Highway 169A connecting Malpe port here with Tirthahalli in Shivamogga district.

Presently, this 10-km stretch in the city has roads of varying widths. The road from Devi Nagar at Parkala to MIT Circle is 5.5-m wide with a bottleneck in Parkala town. The road from MIT Circle to Syndicate Circle is 14-m wide, while the road from Syndicate Circle to Kadiyali Junction is 16-m wide. The road from Kadiyali Junction to Karavali Junction is 14-m wide.

However, when the widening work is completed, this entire 10-km stretch would be a 30-metre wide four-lane concrete road, facilitating smooth movement of traffic from Udupi to Parkala through the educational hub of Manipal.

In the 30-m-wide highway road, the two carriage ways of 9.5 m each will be separated by a 1.5-m-wide median. It will have a 2-m-wide footpath on either side. Besides this, it will have a 1.5-m-wide covered roadside drains on either side. It would also have a one-metre-wide utility space for optic fibre cables and other pipes on either side.

Manjunath Nayak, Assistant Engineer, National Highways Department, told The Hindu that the widening work had been entrusted to Bhandarkar’s Constructions. The total cost of this project is Rs 98.46 crore. The work order was expected soon and the work would begin in 15 to 20 days, he said.

Since this stretch passes over the Konkan Railway line at Indrali, a 12-ft-wide bridge would be built parallel to the existing 10-ft-wide railway bridge.

Mr. Nayak said land acquisition was required for a length of 700 m of this stretch at Parkala. It would be handled by the independent consultant, Feedback Infra, he said.

But the widening of the Kalsanka bridge, where four roads meet on this stretch, would be taken up by the Udupi City Municipal Council, which will provide a free left turn to vehicles coming from Manipal to the parking space of Sri Krishna Mutt/Temple.