Survey for four-lane road project begins

Survey for four-lane road project begins

Staff Correspondent - The Hindu

HUBLI: Minister for Public Works C.M. Udasi has said that survey for the four-lane road between Hubli and Dharwad has begun.

Addressing presspersons here on Wednesday, Mr. Udasi said that it was the stretch between Hosur Circle in Hubli and Jubilee Circle in Dharwad that would be made four-lane.

The Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited allotted the work to L.S. Kadiyali Associates, New Delhi, on July 7. The survey would cost Rs. 16.35 lakh.

The firm had been asked to submit report in four months, Mr. Udasi said.

The Minister said that the survey had begun on Tuesday and engineer A.T. Patil of Kadiyali Associates had conducted first round of discussions with officials of the Public Works Department.

According to the initial assessment, the four-lane road would be around 42 to 44 meters. Two flyovers would have to be constructed at Hosur Circle in Hubli and Court Circle in Dharwad, he said. Mr. Udasi said the State Government had plans to construct peripheral ring roads in five cities, including Hubli, in the State.

With reference to the consultant company, which was entrusted with the task of finalising alignment of the half-ring road, proposing an alignment that passed through two proposed railway stations, Mr. Udasi said he would look into the issue. The proposed half-ring road connects National Highways 218, 63 and 4 and was granted approval by the Union Government in 2005. Accordingly, work on conducting a survey and finalising an alignment were entrusted to SWIN Consultancy Company. But the alignment proposed by the company passed through the land acquired in 2004 and handed over to the Railways for construction of railway stations.

Pralhad Joshi, MP from Dharwad North, has urged the Government to recover the amount paid to the consultancy firm.