For motorists, Shiradi Ghat stretch will remain highway to hell

The fact that the 37-kilometre Shiradi Ghat stretch of National Highway 75 has long been a nightmare for motorists travelling between Bangalore and Mangalore may not be news. For the passengers, this sorry state of affairs will continue for a long time as NHAI is finding it difficult to get  contractors to work on this stretch.

Says an official with the state division of NHAI, said: “We are not getting people to work on this stretch. Two contractors were blacklisted for doing a sloppy job in 2007-08 when the concretised curves turned to dust in two months. There are 18 contractors who qualify for participating in the tendering process, but their participation for the repair work of the Shiradi stretch has been dwindling.”

One of the blacklisted contractors alleges: “The authorities want us to guarantee the quality of work for two years. We told them the quality cannot be guaranteed if the transport department allows mining lorries, granite carriers, LPG bullet trailers and other very heavy tonnage vehicles (VHTVs) to ply on this stretch. The government allows VHTVs to ply on the stretch without heeding to our suggestions.”

Ajit Shetty, another contractor who refused to take up repair work along the stretch, goes on to say that the bituminous surface has failed due to the poor quality of bitumen. “We found out that the bitumen was adulterated with maddi oil (used oil) which does not mix well with bitumen. Once the bitumen is heated and laid out, the oil present in the bitumen settles on the base of the road, loosening the road. This is how the potholes develop. We have sent the samples to Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited (KREDL) requesting analysis but there has been nothing but silence in return,” says Shetty.

Moreover, this stretch  was not built as per specifications of the Indian Roads Congress (IRC). This was revealed by a RTI activist, Ravishankar, who runs an NGO Hassan Rasta Suraksha Samiti. “We found that the road was not built according to the standards laid down by IRC. There are no drains on either side of the road. Moreover, the storm water flows on to the road during monsoons,” says Ravishankar.

BS Balakrishna, former executive engineer, National Highways division, Mangalore, confirms the allegation. He goes on, “A team of construction experts headed by BR Srinivas Murthy of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore submitted a report in 2003 suggesting that the stretch be concretised. In 2003, the work would have cost Rs90 crore.”

According to IRC-37 specifications, the bituminous tarmac should have at least 2.5 feet thickness over and above the compounded foundation. A quality check carried out by NHAI engineers in 2008 confirmed that the road had no foundation and the bituminous tarmac was just six inches thick. “Only NHAI is equipped to construct roads as per IRC-37 specifications. It needs special machinery, quality material, and supervision. None of the contractors who worked on this stretch has been equipped with these,” contends Ravishankar.

A subsequent study titled ‘Effects of overloading and introduction of tandem-axle trucks on pavement life’ conducted by senior engineer Balabhaskara Reddy and A Veeraraghavan of Bangalore University highlighted the damages that overloaded commercial vehicles can cause to pavement systems.

According to the study, many stretches of the National Highways are inadequate to withstand the increased amount of load carried by multi-axle vehicles. The point is relevant to the highway at hand: over 3,000 tandem axle trucks carrying petroleum products, LPG, timber, granite and chemicals use the Shiradi ghat stretch each day.

Experts have also recommended construction of weighbridges—that can weigh vehicles along with the load they carry—to force truck operators to conform to registered laden weight (RLW) norms.  “Considering the volume of traffic, the Shiradi stretch should have at least six lanes. But at present, it has only two lanes. This causes accidents. The NHAI submitted a proposal to the state government in 2008 to widen the stretch. The idea was to extend the highway project executed between Mukka near Mangalore and Bantwal cross road to Sakleshpur. But the proposal has not been accepted,” reveals an NHAI source.

Environment ministry sources, on the other hand, say that it is impossible for the ministry to grant permission to such a large project in the reserve forests as it would result in largescale tree-felling and degradation of forests.

According to a transport department survey, about 50 percent of the vehicles that get into Tumkur road from Bangalore, move towards Mangalore after turning at Nelamangala.

In a complaint filed with the Lokayukta, civic activist BV Seetharam has stated: “People of Dakshina Kannada, Northern Kerala and Udupi depend on the Shiradi stretch which is the shortest route to reach Bangalore. For years, people of Bangalore and Mangalore have been suffering due to the 37-kilometre stretch which is in a really bad shape.”

The NH Mangalore division has submitted a proposal for concretising the 27-kilometre stretch between Halliholay and Kappalli at a cost of Rs115 crore. But the government is yet to approve the proposal.