Govt approves Rs 2,920 cr highway project in Karnataka

New Delhi: The government today approved a Rs 2,920-crore project for widening a section of national highway-275, connecting Bengaluru and Mysuru, in Karnataka. “The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval for six-laning of Nidagatta – Mysuru Section of NH-275 from km 74.2to km 135.3 on Hybrid Annuity Mode in Karnataka,” Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said in a statement.

The six-laning of about 61 km is estimated to cost approximately Rs 2,919.81 crore including the cost of land acquisition and pre-construction activities. The civil construction cost is about Rs 2,028.93 crore. The statement said the project would also provide employment opportunities to locals during project construction.

“With the widening and improvement of the highway, the areas would experience greater economic growth resulting in higher employment opportunities for locals. An employment potential of 2,48,000 (approx) man-days will be generated locally during the construction period of the stretch,” it said. The section connects Bengaluru and Mysuru and also links important places like Mangalore, Kodagu, parts of Kerala, etc to Bangalore.

The existing four-lane road, passing through congested and thickly populated towns and settlements like Maddur, Mandya & Srirangapatna, etc has already crossed its capacity, resulting in traffic jams and accidents, the statement said.

The upgrade to 6 Laning along with 7m service road on each side and construction of bypasses at Maddur, Mandya & Srirangapatna and grade separated structures of this stretch of the National Highway will greatly reduce the time and cost of travel, particularly of heavy traffic plying in the region.