Mangaluru: The roads passing through the Shiradi ghats that were closed for restoration and widening, is expected to open once more by mid June this year. Considering that the work is progressing in tandem with the schedule, the ghats will, in all likelihood open for commuters by the second week of June.
The Shiradi ghats were closed on January 20 earlier this year following which the contractors, Mangaluru’s Ocean Construction began the work. Although they were initially given 18 months to finish the work, urgency demanded they work day and night to complete a major portion of the work. The rains over the preceding weeks hampered the progress of the work to a certain extent. The contractors however, are hopeful of completing the work by the end of May if the rains don’t interfere too much.
In the second phase of roadwork, out of the 12.38 km of roadway that was scheduled to be redone with concrete, 10 km has been completed and the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) officials have said that they expect the work to be finished by the end of May.
The roads in the ghats tend to crack and break owing to the soft mud that they are laid over. To counter this, the contractors first laid geo textile sheets on top of which they laid crushed stones and concrete slabs.
The contractors have also widened existing bridges and have constructed protective walls on either sides. They have also completed work on minor bridges and in addition to this, they have built three bridges.
Confirming the reports, NHAI officials have said that if all things go according to plan and if the rains don’t continue to hamper the work, the roads will be open by June 15.
