Mahakalipadpu Twin RuB likely to open on January 18

Deputy Commissioner H.V. Darshan said vehicular movement across the much-awaited twin railway underbridges (RuB) at Mahakalipadpu is likely to be allowed from January 18, about a month after the earlier promised date of December 20.

Talking to reporters in Mangaluru on January 14, Mr. Darshan said officials and city traffic police have conducted a trial run of traffic movement. A no objection certificate from Southern Railway has been obtained, but some carriageway work is still pending.

“We hope to open the stretch for traffic from January 18,” Mr. Darshan said, and added that District In-charge Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao is expected to visit the city to inaugurate the twin RuB during this time. If that doesn’t happen, Mr. Rao will perform the inauguration on January 26, he said.

The four-lane road passing through the twin RUB offers a shorter route for vehicles to and from the south of Mangaluru, including Kerala. Nalin Kumar Kateel, the then Dakshina Kannada MP, laid the foundation stone for the ₹50-crore four-lane project on March 28, 2021.

The actual work on the twin RuBs began in December 2022 when Southern Railway closed the Mahakalipadpu railway level crossing to all vehicles except two-wheelers. The pushing of the concrete boxes beneath the railway lines for the underbridge structure was completed in April this year. With the exception of the concerting carriageway, where boulders obstruct construction, Mangaluru Smart City Limited has completed the carriageway work.

As a result of the delay in opening up vehicular movement, commuters travelling south of Mangaluru and towards Kerala were forced to take a detour via Pumpwell since December 2022

“We want to open traffic movement across the RuB as soon as possible and take up the work of repairing the [battered stretch] between Pumpwell Circle and Karavali Circle,” Mr. Darshan told reporters.