Four-lane road between Hassan and BC Road Town

Mangalore: The Union Government is planning to build a four-lane road between Hassan and BC Road Town to provide better connectivity between Bangalore and Mangalore, according to the Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways, Mr K.H. Muniyappa.

He said the Government has received a survey report on converting the national highway stretch between Hassan and BC Road Town. Tender process for converting this stretch into four lanes will begin soon, he said.

When his attention was drawn to the poor condition of the road on Shirady ghat section of Hassan-BC Road, he said Rs 12 crore will be released for repair of the section.

Asked about the progress in the port connectivity project, where a 37.5-km stretch of road between Surathkal and BC Road Town is being converted into four lanes, Mr Muniyappa said the stretch will be made four-lane by December 2009. Of this, the 15-km stretch between Surathkal and Mangalore city will be completed in the next one month.

Tenders have been called for converting a 77-km stretch of national highway between Surathkal and Kundapur and a 15-km national highway stretch between Mangalore and Talapady, he said. The Rs 670-crore project will have to be completed in 30 months, the Minister said.

It has been decided to take up the expressway project to connect the outer ring road in Bangalore with Bangalore International Airport under the National Highway Development Programme Phase VII on a build-operate-transfer basis, he added.