The widening of underpasses where the railway track and the Outer Ring Road (ORR) intersect at four places, helping in reducing the risk of accidents, may become a reality years after it was proposed by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA).
For, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Saturday was apprised of the imperatives of the task.
The ORR bisects the Mysuru-Bengaluru railway line, Mysuru-Hassan line, Mysuru-RBI printing press line and Mysuru-Nanjangud railway line. Though the 42.5-km-long ORR is a six-lane road and is currently managed by the NHAI, the road barrels into a two-lane stretch as it approaches these underpasses. This not only slows down the traffic but poses a risk to the motorists, especially at night.
I.K. Pandey, DG (Projects), Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, who was in the city inspected the ORR on Saturday. Mysuru MP Pratap Simha and MUDA Chairman H.V. Rajiv were present. The two told Mr. Pandey of the need for widening the underpass at the earliest in the interest of the public.
The project is pending since more than 6 years but there are issues pertaining to its execution and funding. Though all rail underpasses are handled by the railway authorities, lack of clarity on the funding mechanism has delayed its implementation. But ever since the MUDA handed the ORR to NHAI for maintenance, the latter is expected to fund the project and fast track its execution. Mr. Rajiv said a proposal for a grade separator at the KRS Road and ORR junction was also discussed and Mr. Pandey has assured them of taking up the works on a priority basis.
The works assumes significance in view of the increase in traffic along the ORR and the imperatives of removing the bottlenecks created by the narrow stretch at the underpass.
Mr. Rajiv also sought NHAI support for the peripheral ring road (PRR) proposed by the MUDA. He said the ORR is already attaining saturation level of traffic and it was imperative to think of the future and ensure traffic diversion by creating a PRR.
The proposed PRR is expected to come at a distance of 6 to 7 km from the existing ORR and will have a length of 106 km. Mr. Rajiv said the PRR may require approximately 600 acres and the NHAI MD has sought a detailed project report before it could be approved for funding.
The PRR was conceptualised in the Mysuru Master Plan-2031 and was first announced by the MUDA in 2016. The alignment of the PRR has already been drawn in the master plan but may require tweaking and the existing roads connecting the hinterland may have to be broadened.