Six months after repair, Shiradi Ghat stretch back to bad state

MANGALORE: The Shiradi Ghat stretch of the Mangalore-Bangalore National Highway 48, which was closed for repairs, was thrown open to traffic in June. But, in less than six months, the road returned to its orignal state ���- barring the hairpin bends ���- which have been concretised.
As on date, Rs 22 crore has been spent on the Shiradi Ghat section, plus an additional Rs 8 crore for concreting the hairpin bends.There is one double turn and 12 curves ��� which are 1.8 km in length.
Still, about works worth Rs 4 crore are pending like asphalting the approaches to the concrete curves.
Now that the entire stretch has gone bad, the contractors will have to redo the whole process again. Engineers who travelled on that road, said the entire granular sub base (GSB), which is about 300 mm in thickness, has worn off to its skin in a large part of the 35-km stretch in the ghat section and exposed the ground sub grade (the foundation).
As rain continues to pound the area, which receives 4,500 mm of it annually, things will worsen, especially in view of the movement of heavy vehicles.
An engineer, who supervised this section during repairs and now has been transferred, says dramatic results cannot be expected.
���The entire road needs to be overhauled, right from the foundation, on the lines of the National Highways Authority of India which spends close to Rs 5 crore for a km on four-lane road, which works out to Rs 2.5 crore for a two-lane road,��� he added.
According to him, the repair of the entire stretch was carried out at a paltry Rs 50 lakh per km. The engineer estimates that Rs 200 crore is needed to make the road last for years. The concrete hairpin bends will last only three-four years, as there were labour problems in laying the concrete with optimum mix.