[Hubli-Dharwad] Work on four-lane road to be launched on Saturday

Source: The Hindu

The Rs. 177.73-crore project to link Hubli and Dharwad

Preparatory talks: Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Jagadish Shettar speaking in Hubli on Wednesday.

The four-lane road between Hubli and Dharwad, a longstanding demand of the residents of the twin cities, is another step closer to being realised with the bhoomi puja for the project to be performed on Saturday.

Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj and in charge of Dharwad district Jagadish Shettar told presspersons here on Wednesday that Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa would perform the bhoomi puja for the Rs. 177.73-crore project.

While the Centre has sanctioned Rs. 100 crore towards the project, the State Government's share is Rs. 77.73 crore. The tender had been finalised and the work order issued to the contractor.

Rapid transit system

As there was a proposal to have a World Bank-funded Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) between the twin cities, the contractor would work in coordination with the officials of the Directorate of Urban Transport; the four-lane road would be laid keeping in mind the requirements of the BRTS, Mr. Shettar said.

Two dedicated lanes would be required for the BRTS, which is a Rs. 500-crore project, making it a six-lane road. “However since the proposal is still in an initial stage, we will be implementing the four-lane project,” he said.

The Minister said a stretch of 19 km between Hosur Circle in Hubli and Jubilee Circle in Dharwad would be developed as part of the project. Of this, 13.75 km of concrete road would be laid between Naveen Hotel near Unakal Tank in Hubli and JSS College at Vidyagiri in Dharwad, he said.

Underpasses would also be constructed at Unakal, Navanagar and Bhairidevarakoppa, and an overbridge at Navalur.

Besides, junction improvement work would be taken up at the Jubilee Circle, Court Circle and NTTF Junction in Dharwad, and Hosur Circle in Hubli, Mr. Shettar said.

Afforestation

The Minister said the Forest Department had completed the survey on the number of trees to be felled to facilitate the road widening. A sum of Rs. 27.27 lakh had been paid to the department for afforestation.

Deputy Commissioner of Dharwad Darpan Jain said the administration was also contemplating shifting the trees where possible.

The Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board had also been paid Rs. 2.84 crore to shift existing water supply lines along the route, Mr. Shettar added.

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Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa to perform the bhoomi puja

A 19-km stretch to be developed as part of the project