The widening and upgrading of the 65-km stretch of Mangaluru-Bengaluru National Highway between B.C. Road and Addahole (near Gundia), which has been delayed by more than month, will begin only by this month-end, according to a senior official.
At a meeting called by Nalin Kumar Kateel, MP, to discuss highway issues, an official of Larsen and Toubro that has bagged the contract of the ₹821-crore project said the work could not be started in September owing to soil moisture content.
Vadiraj B. Katti, project manager and joint general manager, L&T, which has bagged the engineering, procurement and construction order of the project, said the company could complete the 15-km stretch by May-end.
‘Issues not addressed’
Mr. Katti said issues on the 17-km stretch are yet to be addressed. The project involves construction of about 300 culverts. Forest Department clearance for taking up construction of some of the culverts is yet to be obtained.
The project involves the construction of dual carriageway (four lanes) with concrete pavements.