₹279 crore for highway improvement

MANGALURU

Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shobha Karandlaje on Wednesday said that Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has responded positively to a plea to upgrade three National Highways in Udupi and Shivamogga districts.

Mr. Gadkari has informed the Udupi-Chikkamagaluru MP that the Ministry has sanctioned ₹279 crore, in all, for improving the highways, NH 169, NH 169A and NH 766C.

Ms. Karandlaje had written to the Highways Minister on January 24 this year urging him to take up the works on priority basis.

They included raising the finished road level (FRL) and providing protection works in parts of NH 169A in the Udupi-Tirthahalli section, road safety measures on parts of NH 766C, Byndoor-Ranebennur section, widening of NH 169A to two-lane with paved shoulder between Megaravalli and Agumbe and widening the existing two-lane NH 169 between Mala Gate and Karkala in four lanes.

Responding to her in his May 23 letter, Mr. Gadkari said that widening of NH 169A between Megaravalli and Agumbe was sanctioned by his Ministry on March 28 at a cost of ₹96.2 crore. NH 169 widening to four-lane between Mala Gate and Karkala was sanctioned on March 30 at a cost of ₹177.94 crore, while road safety works on NH 766C were sanctioned at a cost of ₹4.89 crore. Improving FRL of NH 169A will be included in Road Safety Annual Plan of the current year, he added.

Ms. Karandlaje has, in a statement, thanked Mr. Gadkari and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for sanctioning the works for the region.