Almost a decade after completion of the Outer Ring Road, a lacunae in the project which was left unattended for years due to paucity of funds, is set to be corrected within six months.
Four road underbridges cut across ORR but the four-lane highway and the two-lane service roads abutting it barrels into a two-lane road while bisecting the RUB. This not only used to reduce the speed of the vehicles plying along the ORR but also posed a risk to motorists, especially at night.
Though the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) mooted rectification by widening the portion of the road that cuts across the railway bridge, it could not be taken up due to financial constraints. Besides, the MUDA lacked the expertise to take up a project that would impact the railways.
The ORR bisects the railway track at four places and they include the Mysuru-Bengaluru line, the Mysuru-Hassan line, Mysuru-Nanjangud line and the Mysuru-RBI note printing unit line. At all these places the highway barrels to a two-lane stretch and during peak hours results in traffic piling up along the ORR.
‘’The civil works at all the four sections will be taken up and completed within the next six months and plans have been approved,” said Pratap Simha, MP, Mysuru. ‘’A general approval of design was delayed but consequent to securing its clearance, the work is expected to gain traction and will be implemented by the National Highways Authority of India”, he said.
Incidentally, the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) had made provisions for the work in the 2014-15 Budget and had set aside ₹59.4 crore but the works never took off. Mr. Simha said the ongoing works have been taken up under Setu Bandhan scheme by the NHAI with funding from Central Road Infrastructure Development Funding.
Similarly, an underpass will also come up next to Crawford Hall at a cost of nearly ₹45 crore, said Mr. Simha. This will eliminate a major traffic bottleneck in the city as the LC gate near the Kukkarahalli Lake tends to be closed frequently due to passage of trains towards Nanjangud and Chamarajanagar. ‘’The deadline for all works is 6 months and they are on track,” Mr. Simha added.
