PWD gears up to replace asphalt on Kankanady bypass road in Mangaluru with concrete

With the opening of the Mahakalipadpu twin Railway Underbridge (RuB) in Mangaluru for traffic, the Public Works Department of Karnataka has geared up to execute the work of replacing the asphalt on the Kankanady bypass road between Karavali Junction and Bhagwan Mahaveera (Pumpwell) Circle with concrete.

“We have asked the sub-division concerned to commence work at the earliest,” a senior engineer with Mangaluru PWD division told The Hindu on January 30. The work was sanctioned in 2020 at an estimated cost of ₹4 crore. Despite the five-year delay, the contractor is ready to execute the work at the same rate. The scope of work includes laying a 7-metre wide concrete road on both the sides with a 1-metre wide median inbetween, the engineer said.

Construction of pavement and concrete shoulder drains are not in the scope of work, he said adding the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) might have planned for the same.

The department would first take up work on the up-lane, from Pumpwell Circle to Karavali Junction stretch. Before that, MCC would have to shift the existing underground drainage line. The civic body would also have to shift other utility lines and lay service lines for Jalasiri water supply, the engineer said.

If undertaken immediately, the PWD is hopeful of completing the work before the onset of monsoon, the engineer said.

Underground line shifting

Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) will shift the underground drainage line (UGD) line beneath the up carriageway (left) of the Kankanady bypass road before the Public Works Department takes up work of laying concrete on the 700-metre road between Karavali Junction and Bhagwan Mahaveera (Pumpwell) Circle in Mangaluru.
| Photo Credit:
H S MANJUNATH

A senior engineer from MCC said tender was finalised to shift the UGD line beneath the up-carriageway at an estimated cost of ₹77 lakh, and the work should start soon. The corporation would shift other utility lines too.

However, the 1-metre dia main water supply line from Thumbe running beneath the bypass road could not be shifted owing to the huge cost involved. With the alignment of the road getting changed after concreting, the street light poles might have to be shifted, he added.

Closure of carriageway

Vehicles entering the city from Bhagwan Mahaveer (Pumpwell) Circle towards Karavali Junction will move through Kankanady Old Road, duly making it one-way, on the up direction once the PWD takes up concreting Kankanady bypass road between Karavali Junction and Pumpwell Circle in Mangaluru.
| Photo Credit:
H S MANJUNATH

MCC, in consultation with the Mangaluru City Police, has planned to close one of the two carriageways of the Kankanady bypass road for traffic to facilitate the concreting work. The PWD would first take up work on the up carriageway followed by the down carriageway for concreting.

Vehicular traffic from Karavali Circle towards Pumpwell would be allowed through one of the two available carriageways while the traffic from Pumpwell towards Karavali would be diverted through Kankanady Old Road, duly making both one-way roads in the respective directions.