Mangalore-Shimoga stretch of NH13 unlikely to be widened

Mangalore: A proposal of the Centre to widen the National Highway No. 13 between Mangalore and Shimoga into two lanes is unlikely to become a reality soon. It is because of issues related to Kudremukh National Park (KNP) and other forest area along the stretch.

Official sources told The Hindu that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), under the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, had recently asked the private agency which prepared the draft feasibility report on widening the stretch to revise it by exploring an alternative route.

The agency had submitted the report to the ministry on July 16, 2010.

The Ministry had identified the stretch for widening into two lanes under Phase 4 of the National Highways Development Project (NHDP). The highway from Mangalore passes through Kaikamba, Moodbidri, Karkala, Kerekatte, Kudremukh National Park, Sringeri, Koppa, Tiirthahalli, Mandagadde and Gajanur to reach Shimoga.

The Government had planned for widening the stretch ranging from 3 metres to 5 metres to ensure a common width of 10 metres all along, including a 1.5-m paved shoulder on either side.

The website of the NHAI had listed the 188-km stretch on NH 13 between Mangalore and Shimoga under “tentative list of projects for future bidding”. After studying the feasibility report, sources said the NHAI had asked the agency to explore the possibility of realignment of the entire or part of the highway through an alternative route. It was mainly to avoid the 26-km stretch of the highway inside the KNP as it would be difficult to get the clearance for the project from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests.

Sources said the NHAI had asked the agency for exploring an alternative route to avoid the “hilly and forest area, national park and bird sanctuary”.

They said the agency had been asked to explore the feasibility of linking the Port City and Malnad town through NH 206 and NH 63 or any other road in the vicinity “even if the length of the highway project might increase”.

They said the agency had been asked to study the feasibility of widening the Agumbe Ghat stretch to connect Mangalore with Shimoga via Udupi, Hebri and Thirthahalli.

Sources said a major issue connected with the project was forests. “It may be any route, it will have to pass through the Western Ghats.”

They said the agency in its draft feasibility report had recommended two options of widening the stretch each at a cost of Rs. 2,513 crore and Rs. 590 crore.

The stretch had not been considered for four-lane as the average annual daily traffic density was far lower than the stipulated 15,000 passenger car units, the benchmark for four-lane work.

According to the draft feasibility report, the average annual daily traffic on the stretch was 10,811 passenger car units (PCUs), sources said.